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SATURDAY Vol. XXXVI No. 9948 December 26, 2015 Rabia I 15, 1437 AH

GULF TIMES www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals Assad main In brief sponsor of

QATAR | Ties Emir speaks with Djibouti president HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin terrorism, Hamad al-Thani yesterday held a telephone conversation with Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh. They discussed bilateral relations and the means to enhance them. They also discussed a number says Qatar of issues of joint interest. Rain emergency task force members deploy a suction tanker on a Doha road yesterday. PICTURE: Jayaram Talks with Russia constructive, As for diff erences, al-Attiyah point- IRAQ | Abduction says al-Attiyah ed to the legitimacy of Assad and ex- Sistani calls for the pressed his appreciation that Russia Agencies was against using violence to topple release of Qataris Moscow governments. Iraq’s top Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Al-Attiyah said the international Ali al-Sistani called for the release community has great responsibilities of a group of Qataris kidnapped yrian President Bashar al-Assad in light of the terrorism threat fac- in the south of the country, his Fresh spell of rain is the main sponsor of terrorism ing the Middle East and added such a representative said yesterday. A large Sin his country, Qatar’s Foreign threat requires Arab countries working group of unidentified armed men Minister HE Dr Khalid bin Mohamed with friendly nations to establish secu- abducted at least 26 Qataris from al-Attiyah said yesterday. rity and stability. their camp in the desert near the He was speaking at a joint news con- The foreign minister said terror Saudi border this month. At least nine ference with his Russian counterpart threat grows as the violence of dicta- people who were part of the hunting drenches Qatar Sergei Lavrov in Moscow. torships continues. As a result, Qatar group managed to escape and Al-Attiyah said Assad’s regime has condemns any act of violence against crossed into Kuwait. “We demand By Joseph Varghese when we reached Doha around 2am,” weather offi ce had advised motorists killed and displaced more than 5mn the Arab people, he added. that all kidnapped people be released people. On Palestine, the minister said Israel Staff Reporter said a motorist. to drive carefully and reduce speed no matter who they are,” Ahmed The day started with an intermit- during the rain. They were also told The foreign minister said Qatar was has to end the occupation of Palestin- al-Safi said in a sermon in the holy tent light drizzle bringing cheer to not to take pictures with phones or against labelling all armed opposition ian land taken in 1967 and recognise city of Karbala, south of Baghdad, xactly a month after the fi rst the residents, especially children as other devices while driving. in Syria, adding it was important to an independent state of Palestine with broadcast on state TV. “We condemn major rain this year, Qatar ex- they ventured out to enjoy the weekly The advisory also noted that peo- fi rst understand why each group re- East Jerusalem as its capital. the kidnappings for political goals, Eperienced another spell of holiday. ple should try to get indoors quickly sorted to arming itself. He said his talks with Lavrov were including the recent kidnapping of a showers from Thursday night which But, the situation changed dramat- during thunderstorms and, if driving, He said Qatar’s position on Syria constructive. number of hunters who entered the at times were heavy. ically late afternoon as heavy rains stop the car at a safe place and keep was to fi rst set up a transitional ruling Al-Attiyah said bilateral relations country legally,” he said. The Met Office has forecast thun- started lashing Doha forcing every- the windows closed until the storm authority with full powers and then to with Russia were based on mutual re- dery rain today, “associated with one indoors. Some low-lying areas dissipates. establish security and stability in the spect. He also highlighted bilateral country in order to complete the tran- trade and co-operation in the fi eld of YEMEN | Confl ict strong wind and low visibility at and roundabouts were fl ooded, but Residents were also advised not to sition phase. energy and expressed his hope of fur- first.” the rain emergency task force person- venture into the sea until the weather Assailants kill Al-Attiyah said Qatar opposed the ther co-operation in the future. nel were quick to respond to the situ- improves. Rain is expected in both in- intelligence offi cer The rain was moderate in Doha creation of lists of opposition before yesterday morning, but it turned out ation. shore and off shore areas. Assailants shot dead a senior Yemeni peace talks on Syria. to be very heavy from early evening. The Ministry of Municipality had The weather offi ce has issued a Top rebel leader intelligence off icer in Marib city east “We are against the absolute classifi - killed in airstrike of the capital Sanaa yesterday, a Other parts, especially the northern already made arrangements and kept warning for thundery rains associated cation of groups. What is more impor- security source said. Commander area, experienced moderate to heavy several suction trucks ready in the with strong wind and low visibility. tant is to understand the logic behind Jarallah Salhi was gunned down in rains. Several residents of the area event of fl ooding. Some of the ma- Life was thrown out of gear in Qa- why these groups took up arms, their Zahran Alloush, the chief of Jaish the centre of the city controlled by said it was quite heavy in Al Khor and chines were in action in low-lying ar- tar on November 25 when the coun- aims and motives,” he told reporters. al-Islam, a major armed rebel group forces loyal to the government in the the surrounding areas. eas where water had accumulated in try was lashed with more rain in less He said the international community operating in the suburbs of the Syrian conflict against Houthi rebels. The Some Doha residents who had the afternoon. than two hours than what it gets in a must seek a resolution to the Syrian capital, was killed along with some off icer had actively taken part in the travelled from Al Khor to Doha late On Thursday the Met Offi ce had whole year. crisis based on the Geneva agreement aides in an airstrike near Damascus, a battle for Marib dam, southeast of the Thursday night said it was raining issued safety tips for the public in Roads were fl ooded and many rather than starting from scratch and monitoring group reported yesterday. city backed by a Saudi-led coalition. rather heavily all through the jour- view of the unstable weather condi- buildings developed leaks in the heavy warned that failing to fi nd a resolution The Syrian Observatory for Human The Houthis seized Sanaa last year ney. tions expected in the country over the downpour that lasted from 7am to to the crisis will not benefi t any party. Rights said a warplane targeted a and then advanced south to the “While it was raining heavily in the weekend. 8.30am, preceded and followed by a Responding to a question on Qatar’s meeting attended by Alloush and other second city of Aden, forcing President northern area, it was only a drizzle In a post on its Twitter page, the prolonged drizzle. Page 20 agreements with Russia on the Syrian leaders of Jaish al-Islam in the rebel-held Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to flee to crisis, the foreign minister said there area of Eastern Ghouta on the outskirts Saudi Arabia. Loyalists of Hadi, who were many points both parties can of Damascus. Five aides of Alloush were returned to Aden last month, have build on. One of them was the unity of also killed in the attack, the Britain-based gained the upper hand in oil-rich Syrian land and the transition of the watchdog said. Page 4 Marib province and are now trying to country towards democracy. advance on the rebel-held capital. Modi on surprise Pakistan visit ASIA | Earthquake 6.2 magnitude quake AFP A meeting of their top diplomats kistani leader’s residence south of the Lahore is now set for January in Islamabad, city. rocks Afghanistan indicating a potential thaw in ties be- They were seen smiling as they A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck tween two countries. walked alongside each other and chat- northeast Afghanistan around ndian Prime Minister Narendra Television footage showed an Indian ted in Sharif’s living room. midnight near the country’s borders Modi made a surprise “goodwill” Air Force jumbo jet land at Lahore’s Shortly thereafter, Modi was seen with Pakistan and Tajikistan, Ivisit to Pakistan yesterday, with Allama Iqbal International Airport in off by Sharif at the airport. according to the US Geological the fi rst such trip in a decade seen as a the late afternoon yesterday, moments Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Aizaz Survey. The quake, which measured step towards normalising ties between after Sharif himself arrived by heli- Ahmad Chaudhry later told a news 203.5km deep, struck about 280km the nuclear-armed neighbours. copter. conference that it was a “purely good- northeast of the Afghan capital Kabul Modi, who announced the trip via The Pakistani premier, fl anked by will visit”. at 11.44pm (1914 GMT), the USGS said Twitter while in Kabul, met in Lahore his cabinet ministers, received Modi “Both leaders agreed that it was on its website. It caused buildings with his Pakistani counterpart Na- on the tarmac where military offi cers extremely important that the leaders to sway in the Pakistani capital waz Sharif, who was celebrating his lined up along a red carpet. of both countries should understand Islamabad, and Twitter users as far birthday and the wedding of a grand- Both leaders wore their national each other’s point of view so that the away as New Delhi said they felt the daughter, for a two-and-a-half hour dress and made their way to Sharif’s doors of prosperity could open for Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shows the way to his Qatari counterpart quake’s impact. visit seen by analysts as a positive step. helicopter, which fl ew them to the Pa- their people,” Chaudhry said. Page 12 HE Dr Khalid bin Mohamed al-Attiyah during a meeting in Moscow yesterday. Companies worried over new driving licence rule new rule that prohibits expa- Under the new rule, only citizens of The offi cials had hoped the new em- and nature of business activities. it would be better if expatriates hold- ture companies usually give prefer- triates from converting driving other GCC states will be allowed to get ployees would be able to get their Qa- The new rule has come as a setback ing GCC licences were issued tempo- ence to drivers holding GCC licences. Alicences issued in other GCC their driving licences converted to Qa- tari driving licences quickly and start to companies like theirs, he said, ex- rary licences until they secured Qa- Such fi rms often advertise for drivers countries into Qatari licences has left tari ones, according to reports. their duties without any delay. How- plaining that they now have to keep tari driving licences. Such a provision with GCC experience due to the ad- a section of employers as well as new Some jobseekers who had worked in ever, now these workers have to go the new recruits “practically idle” un- would help ensure that the operations vantages of hiring workers familiar recruits worried. the other Gulf states earlier were hop- through the entire training and test- til they clear the driving test. of local companies were not hit, they with the region and also because they These recruits, who arrived in Qa- ing to get their licences converted on ing process, which may take several It is learnt that more than 10 of the said. can start working soon after landing tar recently or were expected to come landing jobs in Qatar. months. newly selected drivers have landed Another organisation is reportedly here. soon, had driving licences from other Expressing concern over the new A senior offi cial of a food suppli- in Qatar over the past few days. The facing a similar situation as it has re- However, they may now have to al- GCC states and were hoping to get rule, some employers said the in- er said they recruited more than 25 official doubted if the other new re- cruited some expatriate drivers who ter their plans in view of the recent them converted in Qatar. However, ability of new recruits to get their drivers who had earlier worked in a cruits would consider joining the have worked in other GCC states for directive, said the operations manag- they will not be able to do so in view of licences converted here would likely neighbouring GCC state, taking into company with the new rule coming its logistics and parcel division. er of a fi rm implementing a number of the Traffi c Department’s recent direc- affect the operations of a number of consideration their experience and into effect. Owing to the urgency of their work, infrastructure projects in and around tive. firms. familiarity with the region’s culture Some of the local entrepreneurs felt major construction and infrastruc- Doha. Gulf Times 2 Saturday, December 26, 2015 QATAR QU engineering college hosts seminar on ‘joining technologies and materials science’

atar University College of relations Dr Saud Ghani, as well Engineering (QU-CENG) as embassy offi cials and CENG Qhosted the International faculty and students. Symposium on Joining Tech- The event featured a number nologies and Materials Science of presentations delivered by recently. representatives from QU, OU, The event was aimed at bring- Hamad Bin Khalifa University, ing together researchers, experts Texas A&M University at Qatar, and stakeholders to develop and King Saud University and Istan- promote research in the fi eld of bul Technical University. joining technologies and materi- They addressed a wide range QRCS staff with NTP personnel. als science. The symposium was of topics focused on “progress organised in conjunction with towards energy and water se- QU Centre of Advanced Mate- curity grand challenge goals at rials (QU-CAM) and the Joining QEERI”, “Osaka University: No and Welding Research Institute 1 innovative university in Japan”, at Osaka University (OU), and “development of a corrosion supported by Chiyoda Almana free pipeline”, “a decomposition Engineering. method for surrogate models of CENG associate dean for re- large scale structures”, “corro- search and postgraduate studies sion Atlas for diff erent metals QRCS supports TB Prof Abdel Magid Hamouda was and alloys in Qatar; an example joined by Japanese ambassador of CAM’s research” and others. to Qatar Shingo Tsuda, CAM di- Commenting on the sympo- rector Prof Mariam al-Maadeed, sium, Prof Hamouda said: “It Chiyoda Almana Engineer- highlights QU’s pivotal role as a ing managing director Shizuka driving force for innovation in Ikawa and CENG associate dean research, science and technology centre in Mogadishu for development and industrial in Qatar and the region.” atar Red Crescent So- were sampled and the examina- ciety (QRCS) has com- tion results are expected within Qmenced the operation two weeks. of the Tuberculosis and Multi- Confi rmed patients will un- Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis dergo a two-year treatment pro- (TB/MDR) Centre in Banaadir gramme. More patients will be region, Mogadishu, in co-ordi- enrolled over the coming weeks. From left: Ambassador Shingo Tsuda , Prof Abdel Magid Hamouda and nation with the Somali Ministry This burden of TB/MDR-TB Shizuka Ikawa . of Health (MoH), World Health is very high in the country. Ac- Organisation (WHO), World Vi- cording to NTP data, MDR-TB sion and the Organisation of Is- was revealed by 5.6% among Nominations open for Oryx GTL student awards lamic Co-operation (OIC). new cases and 46% among The initiative is part of the ef- previously treated cases. These Nominations are open for the third Oryx GTL Student Awards 2016 until forts to enhance the health sec- MDR prevalence rates would January 25, 2016, the organisers have announced. tor in Somalia, QRCS has said in place Somalia as one of the The awards recognise outstanding individuals and future thought leaders a statement. highest MDR-TB burden coun- who are instrumental in the transformation of Qatar into a knowledge The centre is the only TB tries in the region. economy in line with its National Vision 2030, according to a statement. treatment hub in the eastern, The nearest TB management It celebrates recently-graduated Masters and PhD candidates along with central and southern parts of centres for TB/MDR-TB for their dissertation advisers and highlights the importance of building the country, with just one coun- Somalis are in Nairobi (Kenya) postgraduate education capacity, especially for Qatar’s emerging R&D terpart in Hargeisa, northern and Kampala, where only pa- in energy-related fields. Stakeholders and students from industry and Somalia. Access to TB centres in tients who are legally residents academia have been invited to nominate top individuals, along with an neighbouring countries is also The TB-MDR Centre after restoration. of these countries are enrolled. explanation for their choice and details on how their research supports largely limited. Although many factors could Qatar’s future goals. The deadline for nominations is January 25, 2016. By contributing to Mogad- will cost around $445,000 equipment and furnishing of the After registering the patients, be blamed for drug resistance The selection committee will review the submissions on January 28 and ishu’s centre, QRCS seeks to re- (QR1,620,000), co-funded centre’s buildings, as well as op- samples were taken and sent to in Somalia, the main causes in the winners will be contacted on February 7. duce and control the morbidity by QRCS and World Vision. It eration and establishment of the the reference TB laboratory in both new and previously treated An awards ceremony will be held on April 25 at Qatar University (QU). and mortality caused by TB and targets treating 1,640 TB and TB management team, promot- Kampala, Uganda, where they TB cases are likely poor drug “We are delighted to call for nominations for the third Oryx GTL Student MDR-TB by introducing and MDR-TB patients and protect- ing capacity building for health were to be tested for disease quality, poor storage condi- Awards 2016 and look forward to exploring the innovative work from the scaling up intervention, diagno- ing 30,000 patient close-con- personnel, patient support, op- verifi cation and diagnosis. tions, wrong dosage, absence of brightest young talented minds in Qatar today,” the Oryx GTL CEO said. sis and management. tact families. erational TB/MDR-TB research Under an agreement with or non-adherence to guidelines, For more details, visit http://goo.gl/ISZDLT and submit completed nomina- Lasting one year, the The activities conducted so and medical and paramedical the MoH National Tuberculosis poor training and absence of tions to Brian Cozzolino, associate at Gulf Intelligence, at briancozzolino@ fi rst phase of the project far include full rehabilitation, training. Programme (NTP), 18 patients government regulations. gulfintelligence.com

Court acquits two over burglary Research on Al Shaheen whale Vodafone Qatar clinches The Court of Appeal has acquitted an expatriate Arab woman and an Arab man of the charges of sharks to be presented at conference burglary, local Arabic daily Arrayah ‘best CSR initiative’ award reported yesterday. Earlier, the criminal court had sentenced them nother successful season of the Qatar to a suspended year in jail and de- Whale Shark Research has come to an end, odafone Qatar has been CSR leaders in the country, portation. However, they appealed Aaccording to offi cials associated with the recognised with the said: “We’re very happy to have the ruling claiming that the court project. V‘Best CSR Initiative been named for the Best CSR had failed to apply the law prop- The fi fth season since 2011, the project has Award’ at the third Conference Initiative following our sus- erly. The victim and the claimant been rewarding and challenging for the team on Corporate Social Responsi- tainability report, which we relinquished his rights to the case consisting of members from the Ministry of bility & Awards. have worked diligently to en- and told the court he could not re- Environment (MoE), Maersk Oil Research and The initiative was held un- sure it refl ects issues of impor- member whether anything wrong Technology Centre and Heriot Watt University. der the patronage of HE Sheikh tance to all of our stakeholders. happened. Further, he dropped all The MoE has launched 15 boat surveys in 2015 Abdulla bin Saoud al-Thani, “Sustainability report is today charges and accusations against from the port of Al Ruwais to the Al Shaheen oil The whale shark can reach a length of over 15m governor of Qatar Central Bank Dana Haidan a necessity in the overall trans- the two. Accordingly, the Court fi eld located approximately 90km north-west of and weigh more than 30 tonnes, making it the and chairman of the Sports and parency and governance proc- of Appeal established that there the coast of Qatar. Not only does the whale shark largest fish in the world. Social Activities Support Fund tiative (GRI) principles of sus- ess of businesses and it puts the were no solid evidence against frequent Qatar waters every year, they aggregate (Daam). tainability context, stakeholder limelight on the critical values them in the first place. It was only a in the Al Shaheen area in numbers only seen in a for food.”The research team has documented that “The award underlines Vo- inclusiveness and materiality businesses need to embrace for coincidence that they were at the handful of places around the world. they come here to feed on tiny fi sh eggs. DNA dafone’s commitment to sus- analysis. long-term success.” place together. The recordings of Al Shaheen is the largest off shore oil fi eld in analysis conducted by the MoE Biotech Labora- tainability reporting, which The report refl ects Voda- Vodafone Qatar’s “ambition the house surveillance cameras Qatar. Since 1996, the off shore platforms have tories and University of Chicago confi rmed that has become a strategic business fone’s consideration of issues is to enable sustainable living also aff irmed it. Eventually, the Court been operated by Maersk Oil on behalf of Qatar the fi sh eggs belong to the mackerel tuna. “All our value, serving as a diff eren- important to stakeholders, in- for all through operating ethi- of Appeal quashed the ruling of the Petroleum. “You would think that jumping into research results are coming together now after fi ve tiator in competitive industries cluding customers, employees, cally and responsibly, deliver- lower court. the water surrounded by more than 100 giant black years of research and we are looking forward to and fostering investor confi - governments, regulators and ing positive change using our dorsal fi ns, all belonging to super-sized sharks, present it at the fourth International Whale Shark dence and trust,” the company communities where they op- technology, and to contribute Expat gets jail could only happen in your worst nightmare” said Conference here in Doha,” said Abdulrahman al- has said in a statement. erate, suppliers, lenders and to community development in Mohamed al-Jaidah, special adviser to the MoE. Emadi, director of the Maersk Oil Research and In September, Vodafone Qa- bondholders, and their equity Qatar and around the world”, term for theft “But, in fact, being together with these harm- Technology Centre. tar launched its fi rst GRI Sus- investment partners. the statement noted. less giants is the most beautiful and mind-blowing The conference will take place in May 2016 and tainability Report covering Dana Haidan, head of CSR Vodafone Qatar’s sustain- A Doha Criminal Court has sen- experience. They are so massive and yet graceful attract whale shark researchers from around the the company’s activities in the and sustainability at Vodafone ability report is available at tenced a Sri Lankan expatriate to when they pass by you – giving you a curious look globe. It will be hosted by the MoE and will be 2014 calendar year and follow- Qatar, who was also named at www.vodafone.qa/en/social- one year in jail and subsequent before they open their mouth and fi lter the water sponsored by Maersk Oil Qatar. ing the Global Reporting Ini- the conference as one of the responsibility deportation for stealing money from his employer. Local Arabic daily Arrayah reported yesterday that the defendant used to work as a cashier at a local retailer. According to the investigation, he QC implements project to revive Gaza poultry sector used to keep aside the cash he collected from the sale of the com- pany’s product instead of keeping atar Charity (QC) has implemented a QR7mn QC director in Gaza Mohamed Abou Haloub noted project accounts for only a little (portion) of your loss it in the off ice safe. project, sponsored by the Gulf Co-operation that the project was implemented in co-operation and suff erance.” Abou Haloub thanked the contribu- The cashier’s errant activities was QCouncil (GCC) under the supervision of Is- with the Palestinian authorities, mainly the Ministry tors to the project’s funding and administration, led by discovered by his supervisors lamic Development Bank – Jeddah, to revive the poul- of Agriculture. the GCC’s programme for reconstructing Gaza Strip, when they monitored the record- try and red meat sector in Gaza Strip. The aim was to achieve fair distribution of the Islamic Development Bank in Jeddah and the national ings of the surveillance cam- Some 170 aff ected Palestinian farmers in Khan Younis project’s budget to the chosen owners of damaged staff , including mainly the members of the project’s eras. He admitted stealing a total (southern part of Gaza Strip), out of 533 aff ected farmers farms, especially those aff ected by the 2008 and ear- instructive committee and the technical and man- amount of QR8,000 in such a way across the strip signed, have contracts to benefi t from the lier Israeli attacks, which targeted all governorates in agement staff . Adel Atallah, assistant undersecretary and signed a written confession. project. The money is to be delivered in payments to the Gaza Strip. at the Ministry of Agriculture, thanked QC’s offi ce in The court established his guilt and farmers according to their needs and losses. He addressed the benefi ciaries, saying: “We are Gaza for its eff orts to support agriculture and to de- sentenced him accordingly. Off icials at the ceremony. At the contract signing ceremony in Khan Younis, aware that any amount of money presented by the velop animal production.

Gulf Times 4 Saturday, December 26, 2015 ARAB WORLD Buses to ship out Syrian rebel chief 2,000 besieged killed in air strike Islamist fi ghters Reuters squeezed the fl ow of food and since Russia launched its aerial Reuters Beirut humanitarian aid, starving bombing campaign in support Beirut many people to death in what of the Assad government on rights group Amnesty Inter- September 30. wo thousand Syrian Is- national has described as war In a separate development, he head of the most pow- lamist fi ghters are ex- crimes. a British-based monitoring erful Syrian insurgent Tpected to be evacuated Manar said the fi ghters group said the last of some 200 Tgroup in the rebel-held soon from besieged, rebel-held would also be handing in their Nusra Front fi ghters operating suburbs of Damascus was killed areas of southern Damascus in heavy weapons to the Syrian in Deraa province in the south yesterday in a Russian air strike a deal brokered by the Unit- army under what it said was had been given safe passage by on the secret headquarters of his ed Nations, a Hezbollah TV a multi-party deal under UN the Syrian authorities to leave group, rebel sources said. station said yesterday. auspices. for rebel-controlled Idlib. The Syrian army confi rmed the The deal marks a success for Damascus agreed to the death of Zahran Alloush, whose the government of President The besieged militants move in return for the release Jaysh al Islam grouping has thou- Bashar al-Assad, increasing its include fi ghters of of Iranian offi cers captured by sands of fi ghters and is the biggest chances of reasserting control Islamic State and the Nusra while fi ghting alongside rebel faction in the area. over a strategic area just 4km Nusra Front the Syrian army, said Rami Ab- Several rebel group lead- (2.5 miles) south of the centre dulrahman, head of the Syrian ers have been killed since Rus- of the capital. Manar is the offi cial mouth- Observatory for Human Rights. sia launched its air campaign It also highlights the in- piece of Hezbollah, a Lebanese The south Damascus and on September 30 in support creasing eff orts of the UN and Shia group which is a major ally Deraa deals followed an ear- of President Bashar al-Assad, foreign governments to bring of Assad and has sent its forces lier local truce in Zabadani on whose troops had suff ered a about local ceasefi res and safe- to fi ght alongside government the Lebanese border, and an series of setbacks in a civil war passage agreements as steps troops. agreement allowing rebels to now nearing the end of its fi fth towards the wider goal of end- It later said the evacuation leave a besieged part of the city year. No immediate comment ing Syria’s civil war, in which “awaited completion of some of Homs, which the U.N. said was available from the Russian more than 250,000 people have arrangements”. could help pave the way for a defence or foreign ministries. been killed in nearly fi ve years Separately, the Syrian army nationwide truce. Alloush’s removal dealt a ma- of fi ghting. said yesterday it had fought The UN Security Council on jor blow to rebel control of the The besieged militants in- its way close to the strategic, December 18 unanimously ap- eastern rural suburbs of Damas- clude fi ghters of Islamic State rebel-held Aleppo-Damascus proved a resolution endorsing an cus, known as al-Ghouta. and the Nusra Front, Al Qaeda’s highway - its latest gain in a international road map for a Syr- Separately, the Syrian army off shoot in Syria. Hezbollah’s major off ensive supported by ian peace process, a rare show of said yesterday it had fought its Manar TV said 18 buses had ar- Iranian-backed Shia militias consensus among major powers. way close to the strategic, rebel- rived to start taking them and and Russian air power. Syrian Foreign Minister held Aleppo-Damascus high- 1,500 family members to ar- The government and its al- Walid al-Moualem said on way - its latest gain in a major eas under the control of IS and lies are pressing towards the Thursday that Damascus was off ensive supported by Iranian- other rebel groups. It was not northwestern province of Idlib, ready to take part in peace talks backed Shia militias and Russian clear whether the buses were which borders Turkey and is in Geneva and hoped that the air power. This file picture shows Zahran Alloush looking on during a press conference with other brigade leaders in provided by the UN or by the controlled by a coalition of Is- dialogue would help it form The combined developments the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta region outside the capital Damascus. Syrian army. lamist groupings called Jaish al a national unity government. all strengthen Assad’s position The rebels’ capitulation Fateh. Its capture would deal a The UN plans to convene the as his government prepares for Alloush was ideologically at Assad’s control over the rest of Syrian army, said Rami Ab- was forced by a government major blow to the insurgents, Geneva talks towards the end peace talks that the United Na- odds with Islamic State and Al al-Ghouta, which has been be- dulrahman, head of the Syrian siege over several years that who have been losing ground of January. tions is planning to convene in Qaeda, espousing a more moder- sieged by his forces for several Observatory for Human Rights. Geneva late next month. ate brand of Islam and fi ghting to years and has been the target of The evacuations of rebels The UN Security Council on drive the ultra-militant Islam- intensive raids on civilian- from south Damascus and De- December 18 unanimously ap- ists out of his territory. But he populated areas. raa follow previous local deals on proved a resolution endorsing was criticised for a crackdown In a separate development, a truces and safe passage, brokered an international road map for on dissidents and accused of British-based monitoring group with the support of outside pow- US reports 31 strikes against IS a Syrian peace process, a rare kidnapping several prominent said the last of some 200 Al Qae- ers or the United Nations, which show of consensus among ma- activists in 2013. da-affi liated Nusra Front fi ght- has described them as possible jor powers on a confl ict that Syria has long accused Saudi ers operating in Deraa province stepping stones towards a wider Reuters ing the operations said in a wounded three Islamic State has claimed over a quarter of a Arabia of paying for arms and in the south had been given safe ceasefi re. Washington statement yesterday. fi ghters. million lives. other supplies to Alloush. But he passage by the Syrian authorities Syrian Foreign Minister Walid In Syria, a dozen strikes In Iraq, the coalition staged Alloush’s Jaysh al Islam, with is reported to have failed, in vis- to leave for rebel-controlled Idlib al-Moualem said on Thursday using fi ghters and drones 19 strikes near nine cities, in- thousands of trained fi ghters, is its to countries hostile to Assad, province. that Damascus was ready to take he United States and near fi ve cities included cluding seven strikes near Mo- the biggest rebel group, and seen to get the support he wanted for Damascus agreed to the move part in the forthcoming Ge- its allies conducted 31 eight strikes near Mar’a and sul and three near Ramadi that as the most organised. It has his group. in return for the release of Ira- neva peace talks and hoped that Tstrikes against Islam- Manbij that struck seven destroyed 16 fi ghting positions, been eff ectively running the ad- Defence experts say disarray nian offi cers captured by Nusra the dialogue would help it form ic State in Iraq and Syria on tactical fi ghting units, de- several tunnels, vehicles and ministration of Eastern Ghouta. in rebel forces could consolidate while fi ghting alongside the a national unity government. Thursday, the coalition lead- stroyed several vehicles and bunkers. Iraqi forces consolidate position in Ramadi ahead of fi nal push against IS

Reuters north and Islamic State’s main government is to retake Mosul, Baghdad stronghold in the country. a city with a pre-war popula- Three days into the govern- tion of close to 2 million. ment assault, the militants are After capturing Mosul in raqi troops who have fought still entrenched in the centre of 2014, the group also known by their way deep into the Is- Ramadi, around the provincial the acronyms ISIL, ISIS or Dae- Ilamic State stronghold of government complex. Army sh declared a caliphate to rule Ramadi were consolidating commanders said on Wednes- over all Muslims from Sunni- their positions yesterday ahead day the battle for Ramadi would populated territory it controls of a planned fi nal assault to take several days. in Iraq and Syria. capture the city. Concern that civilians are “The liberation of dear Mosul Soldiers were clearing bombs still living in the areas held will be achieved with the coop- from roads and homes in dis- by the militants is slow- eration and unity of all Iraqis tricts of Ramadi they had al- ing the troops’ advance, the after the victory in Ramadi,” ready taken since launching authorities say. Prime Minister Haider al-Aba- their assault on the city on Foreign Minister Ibrahim al- di said in a statement on the Tuesday, state TV said. Jaafari said the militants are us- state media website on Friday. Successfully recapturing Ra- ing civilians as human shields. In a Friday sermon to rally madi, a provincial capital in the “It makes things more com- the nation, read by an aide, fertile Euphrates River valley plicated but it won’t change the Iraq’s top Shia Muslim cleric just two hours drive from Bagh- result; the advance will contin- Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani dad, would be one of the most ue, it will just take more time,” called on the government to important victories achieved he told Reuters in Cairo. make the fi ght against Islamic by Iraq’s armed forces since State TV on Friday showed State its top priority. Islamic State militants swept piles of ammunition crates, “To recover all the land from across a third of the country mortar rounds and plastic Daesh, to rebuild the residen- in 2014. gasoline containers fi lled with tial areas, to return the dis- The Iraqi government forces explosives it said were found placed person are top priorities are backed by air support from in Ramadi homes. Citing a for everybody, foremost for the an international coalition led by military statement, it said the government’s decision mak- the United States. Shia militia armed forces had fi nished se- ers,” said Sistani’s representa- units backed by Iran, which have curing the Hay al-Dhubbat tive Ahmed al-Safi , in a sermon Residents inspect damage at a site hit by what activists said were airstrikes by forces loyal to Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo, Syria played a major part in other gov- neighbourhood that it seized in the holy Shia city of Kerbala, yesterday. ernment off ensives, have been on Tuesday. south of Baghdad, broadcast on kept away from the battlefi eld The ultimate target of the state TV. in Ramadi to avoid angering Sunni Muslim residents. Ramadi, capital of mainly Sunni Muslim Anbar prov- Syrian regime raids kill 28 ince, was Islamic State’s big- gest prize of 2015, abandoned by government forces in May AFP At least 60 others were also The area is regularly bombed fi re, the Observatory said. in a major setback for Baghdad Beirut wounded in the raids on Ham- by the forces of President Bashar Rebels often shell the capital that forced Washington to look muriyeh and Irbin in Eastern al-Assad, Observatory director from Eastern Ghouta, to the east hard at its strategy against the Ghouta, the largest rebel strong- Rami Abdel Rahman said. of Damascus. militants. ir raids by Syrian govern- hold in Damascus province. Two more civilians were More than 250,000 people The Baghdad government ment warplanes killed 28 Twenty of the dead, includ- also killed by shelling in the have been killed in Syria’s con- has long said it intended to re- Acivilians, including 10 chil- ing eight children, were killed in Douma area, northeast of Da- fl ict, which began in March 2011 capture Ramadi before launch- dren, near Damascus on Thurs- Hammuriyeh, while another six mascus, while government as an anti-government protest ing an off ensive against Mo- Vehicles of Iraqi security forces are seen as they advance towards day, the Syrian Observatory for people, among them two chil- forces were also pounding movement but which has spi- sul, the largest city in Iraq’s the centre of Ramadi city yesterday. Human Rights monitor said. dren, died in Irbin nearby. Eastern Ghouta with artillery ralled into a multi-sided war. Gulf Times Saturday, December 26, 2015 5 ARAB WORLD Woman tries to ram car into Israeli guards, is shot dead

AFP spokesman for the Palestinian (Israeli) communities they fi red Jerusalem health ministry of the Hamas- towards the main instigators,” ruled coastal enclave. she said. Around 40 Palestinians were A wave of violence since the Palestinian woman tried wounded in the clashes that took start of October has claimed to ram a car into Israeli place at several points along the the lives of 129 on the Palestin- Aborder guards in a village barrier that separates Israel from ian side, 19 Israelis, an American in the occupied West Bank yes- the Gaza Strip. and an Eritrean. terday, before being shot dead, An Israeli army spokeswom- Many of the Palestinians the police said. an reported that “hundreds of killed have been attackers while “An attempted attack to ram a Palestinians” took part in the others have been shot dead by car into border guards deployed clashes. Israeli security forces during in the village of Silwad (north- The Palestinians were “at- clashes. west of Ramallah) failed. The tempting to damage the secu- A number of them have at- border guards spotted the ter- rity fence by throwing rocks and tempted attacks with kitchen rorist... fi red on her and killed hurling burning tyres at it. Forc- knives in what some analysts her,” a police spokesman said in es on the site responded to the have described as virtual suicide a statement. immediate danger of infi ltration missions. The attempted car ramming (into Israel) asking them to halt Palestinians have grown frus- came shortly after a Palestinian and fi ring warning shots,” the trated with Israel’s occupation, was killed in clashes with Israeli spokeswoman said. the complete lack of progress Palestinian protesters clash with Israeli security forces along the border fence with Israel on the eastern outskirts of Gaza City yesterday. A forces near the border between “But because of the ongoing in peace eff orts and their own Palestinian was killed and around 40 were wounded in the clashes that took place at several points along the barrier that separates Israel from Israel and the Gaza Strip, said a violence and the threat to nearby fractured leadership. the Gaza Strip. Tourism dips in Egypt’s holiday hub

DPA season’s estimated rate of cluding Britain, France and Security has since been en- on the Nile River and nearby Luxor 34%. Germany have come to Luxor hanced in Luxor, famed for its mountainous areas,” he added. “Occupancy rates on to celebrate Christmas,” Badr ancient monuments and Nile In October, Egypt’s tour- Christmas Eve hovered at said yesterday. cruises. ism suff ered a severe blow ery few holidaymak- 25%, while they peaked to Tourism, a main source of “Celebrations will con- after a Russian jet crashed af- ers are visiting Luxor 100% in the years before the income for Egypt, has been tinue until the New Year amid ter taking off from the popu- Vfor the Christmas and January revolution,” Luxor hard hit by the unrest that heavy security measures lar Red Sea resort of Sharm New Year season, deepening Governor Mohammed Badr has gripped the country since around hotels and tourist el-Sheikh, killing all 224 on the economic woes of Egypt’s said, in a reference to the 2011 Mubarak’s ouster. sites in Luxor,” the city’s po- board. southern city, which is a main uprising that forced longtime In June, security forces lice chief, Essam al-Hamaly, Russia said a terrorist tourist destination. dictator Hosny Mubarak out foiled a militant attack in said. bomb brought down the jet. Hotel occupancy in Luxor of power. the vicinity of Luxor’s Kar- “Security forces are moni- The Islamic State terrorist A woman walks next to Santa Claus items for sale on Christmas Eve at a street currently stands at about “Around 5,000 tourists nak temple, a Unesco World toring entrances and exits militia claimed responsibility market in Cairo yesterday. 25%, even lower than last from several countries in- Heritage site. of the city, as well as islands for the crash. IS sanctioned human organ harvesting in paper taken in US raid

Reuters US offi cials say the records that were Islamic State men can and cannot have Washington seized have given the US government a sexual intercourse with female slaves. deep look into how Islamic State or- The fatwa sanctioning organ har- ganises, raises funds and codifi es laws vesting justifi es the practice in part slamic State has sanctioned the for its followers. by drawing an analogy to cannibalism harvesting of human organs in Iraq’s ambassador to the United in extreme circumstances, a practice Ia previously undisclosed rul- Nations, Mohamed Ali Alhakim, told it says earlier Islamic scholars had al- ing by the group’s Islamic scholars, Reuters the documents should be ex- lowed. “A group of Islamic scholars raising concerns that the violent ex- amined by the UN Security Council as have permitted, if necessary, one to kill tremist group may be traffi cking in evidence that Islamic State could be the apostate in order to eat his fl esh, body parts. traffi cking in organs to raise cash. which is part of benefi ting from his The ruling, contained in a January The May raid in Syria, which re- body,” it says. 31, document reviewed by Reuters, sulted in the death of Islamic State McGurk said Islamic State’s Re- says taking organs from a living captive top fi nancial offi cial Abu Sayyaf search and Fatwa Committee reports to save a Muslim’s life, even if it is fatal and the capture of his wife, netted directly to the group’s leader, Abu Bakr for the captive, is permissible. seven terabytes of data in the form al-Baghdadi. Reuters couldn’t independently of computer hard drives, thumb The ruling on organ harvesting cites confi rm the authenticity of the docu- drives, CDs, DVDs and papers, said Islamic texts, principles and laws that ment. US offi cials say it was among a Brett McGurk, US President Barack it says support what it calls “the no- trove of data and other information Obama’s Special Presidential Envoy tion that transplanting healthy organs obtained by US special forces in a raid for the Global Coalition to Counter into a Muslim person’s body in order to in eastern Syria in May. ISIL, in an interview. Abu Sayyaf save the latter’s life or replace a dam- “The apostate’s life and organs don’t was a Tunisian militant whose real aged organ with it is permissible.” have to be respected and may be taken name was Fathi ben Awn ben Jildi Senior US offi cials, including with impunity,” says the document, Murad al-Tunisi. McGurk, said they have not been able which is in the form of a fatwa, or re- US offi cials have previously de- to ascertain whether the Islamic State ligious ruling, from the Islamic State’s scribed the Abu Sayyaf raid and some had followed through on the fatwa on Research and Fatwa Committee. of the documentation seized. But un- organ harvesting. “Organs that end the captive’s life til now, none of the actual documents The document provides “a religious if removed: The removal of that type have been released - aside from mate- justifi cation for harnessing the organs is also not prohibited,” Fatwa Number rials illustrating Islamic State’s traf- of what they call infi dels,” he said. 68 says, according to a US government fi cking in antiquities, made public at William McCants, a Brookings In- translation. an event at New York’s Metropolitan stitution scholar who is author of the The document does not off er any Museum of Art in September. book “The ISIS Apocalypse,” said the proof that Islamic State actually The US government has shared group’s ruling on slavery and human engages in organ harvesting or or- some of the documents from the Abu organs don’t represent modern Islamic gan traffi cking. But it does provide Sayyaf raid with allied governments in interpretations. religious sanction for doing so un- an eff ort to increase their understand- In February, Alhakim, had urged the der the group’s harsh interpreta- ing of Islamic State in recent weeks as UN Security Council to investigate tion of Islam - which is rejected by Washington works to shore up support the deaths of 12 doctors in the Islamic most Muslims. Previously, Iraq has for countering the group. State-held city of Mosul. Alhakim said accused Islamic State of harvesting The group of documents reviewed the doctors were killed after refusing to human organs and traffi cking them by Reuters - entitled “Lessons Learned remove organs. for profi t. From the Abu Sayyaf Raid” - show how The UN special envoy for Iraq, Nick- The document does not defi ne the Islamic State has provided a legal olay Mladenov, said at the time that “apostate,” though the Islamic State justifi cation to its followers for a range he could not confi rm the claim, but it has killed or imprisoned non-Muslims, of practices. would be investigated. The UN has not such as Christians, and Shia Muslims, For instance, “Fatwa Number 64” provided an update on that investiga- as well as Sunni Muslims who don’t dated January 29, 2015, provides de- tion, which Alhakim said he would ask follow its extremist views. tailed rules for rape, prescribing when the Security Council to revisit. Gulf Times 6 Saturday, December 26, 2015 AFRICA

Opposition fi gures arrested over land protests in Ethiopia

Reuters “anti-peace forces” had in- Addis Ababa cited violence by spreading false information about the so-called “Addis Ababa Inte- thiopian police have ar- grated Development Master rested two senior op- Plan” to create an investment Eposition members on and industrial zone near the suspicion of inciting weeks of capital. protests against government He said members of “ter- plans to set up a new econom- rorist groups” had infiltrated ic zone near the capital that protesters and that the gov- would displace farmers, their ernment would take “un- party leader said yesterday. flinching measures” against The Oromo Federalist Con- them. gress (OFC) says 87 protest- Addis Ababa has accused ers have been killed by police the secessionist Oromo Lib- since demonstrations broke eration Front (OLF) and op- out this month in Oromiya position group Ginbot 7 of region, in the country’s worst involvement in the protests. civil unrest for a decade. It labels both groups as ter- On Dec 15, a government rorist organisations. spokesman said police had Oromiya is Ethiopia’s larg- a list of five people who had est region by size and popu- died during the protests, but lation. Dissident groups such casualties could be higher. as the OLF, which is waging Officials have yet to an- a low-key rebellion, accuse nounce an updated number. the ruling EPRDF coalition OFC chairman Merara Gu- of marginalising ethnic Oro- dina said police rounded up mos. his deputy Bekele Gerba and The second most populous the party’s assistant secretary nation in Africa with 90mn Dejene Tafa on Thursday, and people, Ethiopia has long both remained in custody. been one of the poorest coun- A frame grab made yesterday from a video shows a burning cistern and burnt cars in the aftermath of a blast at an industrial gas plant in Nnewi, some 25km southwest of Onitsha in “They suspect that our tries in the world per capita, Anambra State, southeastern Nigeria. party and some of our mem- but has made startling strides bers are part of the protest towards industrialisation, movement, that we have been recording some of the con- inciting the demonstrations,” tinent’s strongest economic he told Reuters, denying that growth rates for a decade. the OFC had incited violence. But reallocating land for “We do not know when Bekele new uses is a thorny issue and Dejene will be released or in a country where the vast be charged for anything.” majority of the population Nigeria gas plant blast Government officials were still survives on smallholder not immediately available for farm plots. The opposition comment, but Prime Minister says farmers have often been Hailemariam Desalegn told forced off land and poorly parliament yesterday that compensated. claims ‘tens’ of lives

AFP outside the perimeter, two more for customers stocking up on Lagos bodies were found in the adjoin- fuel for Christmas festivities. Civil servants suspended ing building, bringing the total Others said it was set off number of casualties to eight.” when a leaking consignment Tens” of people were killed Okechukwu, who said a fur- of gas was being moved to the over stolen US funds in a huge Christmas Eve ther six people were injured, company dump. “blast at an industrial gas added that an investigation into “The cause is yet to be deter- plant in southeastern Nigeria, the explosion was under way. mined. A few people lost their AFP 12% in 2004 to 10% in 2014. President Muhammadu Buhari The gas-fuelled fire spread lives. Some people suffered Blantyre Kumpalume said the sto- said yesterday. to a large surrounding area in- burns of various degrees,” said len money ran into “millions”, In an e-mailed press state- stantly, National Emergency Anambra state governor, Willy adding that the US-funded ment, Buhari said he was “great- Management Agency (Nema) Obiano, who visited the scene alawi has suspended Centre for Disease Control ly shaken and shocked by such spokesman James Eze said. of the accident. 63 civil servants who and Prevention (CDC) had large scale loss of human lives in “About 300 metres from the A mainly Christian city, Mallegedly stole mil- written the ministry to com- a single industrial accident.” gas line all the plants there were Nnewi is known as a busy hub lions of dollars of US funds plain that they suspected civil The blast at the gas plant hap- burnt, houses from 400 metres for trading spare vehicle parts. sent for fi ghting HIV and Aids, servants from the HIV and pened around noon Thursday, away were affected, heavy ma- Nigeria is Africa’s largest oil local media reported yesterday. Aids project were defrauding engulfi ng the southeastern in- chines too,” Eze said, speak- producer, deriving the bulk of Health Minister Peter the government. dustrial city of Nnewi in black ing by phone from the Nnamdi its money through the com- Kumpalume told the Daily clouds of billowing smoke and Azikiwe University Teaching modity. Times newspaper that sen- This is the fi rst time a leaving some victims charred Hospital where victims of the Accidents happen frequently ior officials from the health record number of civil beyond recognition. blast were taken for treatment. in the country, usually when ministry’s finance, human servants have been The fi re raged for hours, gut- Eze put the total number of pipelines are damaged by peo- resources and HIV and Aids suspended in Malawi ting surrounding buildings and casualties at four, barring any ple stealing crude oil. departments were “suspend- cars, with incinerated corpses missing people who were burnt In July, 12 people died and ed to allow auditors to inves- US ambassador to Malawi, later found face down in the A frame grab made yesterday from a video shows burnt motorbikes in without any trace. three were injured in an explo- tigate and audit the accounts. Virginia Palmer, said on Face- smouldering rubble. the aftermath of a blast at an industrial gas plant in Nnewi. “The fire (was) so strong as to sion while carrying out repairs This is the first time a book that she hoped the au- Nnewi resident Ilochonwu burn the bones into ashes, but on a pipeline in the Niger delta. record number of civil serv- thorities “will identify those Prince, who lives near the plant, with their families for Christ- He said no one knew what set nobody has come forward with Over the past decade, hun- ants have been suspended in responsible and that they will said he thought a house had col- mas,” said the 26-year-old stu- off the explosion because “none a missing person,” Eze said. dreds of people in the conti- the poor southern African be held fully accountable for lapsed when he heard the blast at dent, his voice shaking with of them that were there survived, There were conflicting ac- nent’s most populous nation nation. Malawi has one of the misuse of funds intended around 11:30 am on Thursday. emotion. now nobody has a good story of counts too about the cause of have been killed in explosions. the highest HIV prevalence to improve the health of Ma- “When there is a sound like “I saw four or fi ve bodies that what actually happened.” the explosion and the authori- The country loses an esti- rates in the world, straining lawian citizens.” that you run for your life, the were dead already, the fi re burnt Authorities have given vary- ties have not explained what mated 300,000 barrels a day to the healthcare system and Prosecutors have in the volume was so high,” Prince said them to ashes,” Prince said. ing tolls. triggered it. gangs that syphon crude from economy. past said one third of Ma- to AFP. “Most of them there, they were “It was a huge inferno,” police Some local reports said the pipelines, according to the state- It has trimmed the national lawi’s government revenue is “It was the 24th, they wanted people on vacation, and they are spokesman Ali Okechukwu told blast occurred after a truck was owned Nigerian National Petro- HIV prevalence rate from over lost through fraud. to buy gas that they would use just gone like that.” AFP. “We have found six bodies off-loading butane cooking gas leum Corp.

POLITICS New constitution Christmas Mass allowing Kagame extra terms Central Africa elections comes into force postponed until Dec 30 Rwanda’s amended constitution allowing President Paul Kagame to potentially rule until 2034 has AFP come into force, the justice min- Bangui ister said yesterday. The amend- ments allow Kagame, 58, to run for an exceptional third seven-year ong-delayed elections term in 2017, at the end of which in volatile Central Afri- the new rules take eff ect and he Lcan Republic that were will be eligible to run for a further initially due this weekend have two five-year terms. “The Constitu- been postponed for three days tion of the Republic of Rwanda, until December 30, the coun- 2015 revised edition, is in force,” try’s National Election Author- Minister of Justice Busingye John- ity (ANE) said yesterday. stone said in a brief statement “For technical reasons the Central African Republic presidential candidate Martin Ziguele on Christmas Day. The US and fi rst round of the presidential (centre) takes part in a campaign rally in the district of PK5 in Bangui European Union have denounced and legislative elections sched- yesterday ahead of the country’s presidential election. the constitutional amendments uled for December 27 is delayed as undermining democracy in the until December 30,” an ANE commission to accomplish its day, but given the holiday pe- central African country, with the statement said. work in a calm and transparent riod it does not plan to meet, a White House urging Kagame to The postponement was due manner.” It added that the elec- source close to the court said. respect the limits of his term in of- to problems sending ballot pa- tion campaign, with 30 candi- A decree from the country’s fice. The “yes” vote in favour of the pers to election centres outside dates vying for president, has transitional President Catherine constitutional change garnered the capital Bangui — a refl ec- also been extended “to mid- Samba Panza is expected soon to 98.4%, leaving just 1.6% of voters tion of the diffi culties the poor night Monday December 28”. offi cially confi rm the new elec- opposed. Kagame has eff ectively country faces as it struggles to The authorities of the transi- tion date. The long-awaited controlled Rwanda since his rebel return to peace and normalcy. tion government had proposed elections are aimed at turning force ended the country’s 1994 “This decision was taken af- on Thursday to delay the elec- the page on the sectarian confl ict genocide. He took part in the ter consultation with all those tion to next week. that erupted after a mainly Mus- first post-genocide government A church choir sings at an All Saints Cathedral during a Mass on Christmas Day in Kenya’s involved in the electoral proc- Normally the Consitutional lim rebellion overthrew longtime as vice president and defence capital Nairobi yesterday. ess”, ANE said, adding that the Court would need to approve Christian leader Francois Bozize minister. aim is to “allow the electoral changing the voting from Sun- in 2013. Gulf Times Saturday, December 26, 2015 7 AMERICA

Former president Clinton’s US ‘planning’ New Year birthplace damaged push to expel migrants AFP AFP Mexico slowed this year, but the woman Gillian Christensen told can promise the toughest stance dropped by a third to the second ily units and non-accompanied Washington Washington numbers surged upwards again AFP that Homeland Security on immigration. lowest level since 1972. minors,” said Liduvina Magarin, in October and November. Secretary Jeh Johnson “has con- Trump tweeted: “Wow, be- The number of children deputy minister for Salvadorans Several Latin American coun- sistently said our border is not cause of the pressure put on by crossing without their relatives abroad. “It is a regrettable deci- rson is suspected in a fi re resident Barack Obama’s tries are in the grip of violent open to illegal immigration”. me, ICE TO LAUNCH LARGE – which surged in 2014 – was sion by the US government (that that broke out at former administration is planning lawlessness and the El Nino “If individuals come here il- SCALE DEPORTATION RAIDS. also well down over the period. aff ects) our Salvadoran families.” AUS president Bill Clin- Pa vast operation to round weather pattern has plunged a legally, do not qualify for asylum It’s about time!” But the number of minors and In Honduras, there has been a ton’s birthplace early yesterday up and expel from the United number of countries in the re- or other relief, and have fi nal or- In contrast, Hillary Clinton’s families crossing began to in- police crackdown but the homi- morning, damaging the histori- States migrant families who fl ed gion into drought. ders of removal, they will be sent campaign said the Democratic crease again sharply toward the cide rate is still expected to be cal site, police said. drought and violence in Central The Department of Homeland back consistent with our laws frontrunner has “real concerns”. end of 2015, alarming the DHS. one of the highest in the world “It’s pretty logical that it was America, reports said on Thurs- Security (DHS) did not dispute and our values,” Christensen Clinton “believes it is criti- In El Salvador there was a this year at 62 per 100,000 in- purposely set,” JR Wilson, the day. anonymously sourced reports said. cal that everyone has a full and sobering wave of violence this habitants. police chief in Hope, Arkansas, Any such crackdown would in the Washington Post and Wall Refugee rights activists argue fair hearing, and that our coun- year. Between January and No- There was a similar spike in told AFP. be hugely controversial, with Street Journal that a crackdown the families are fl eeing corrup- try provides refuge to those that vember there were 6,065 homi- killings in Guatemala. The blaze ran up an exterior immigration one of the hottest is imminent. tion, gang violence and drought need it”, read a statement re- cides, according to the Forensic In 70% of the cases there, fi re- back wall of the white frame topics in the 2016 presidential According to the reports, in their homelands and should ported in US media. “We should Medical Institute. arms were the cause of death. house where Clinton spent the campaign, and rights groups hundreds of families living in the be treated as refugees. be guided by a spirit of humanity One of El Salvador’s top offi - Compounding matters, many fi rst few years of his life, but the expressed grave concern at the United States whose asylum re- Republican presidential and generosity as we approach cials for migration issues called countries around the Pacifi c Rim damage was minor, Wilson said. deportations. quests have been denied will be hopefuls including frontrun- these issues.” the US decision “regrettable”. are facing extreme weather, in- A motorist reported the blaze The fl ow of families and un- rounded up and sent home. ner Donald Trump – who took In the 2015 fi scal year arrests “We have been informed cluding drought. in the early hours of yesterday, accompanied children cross- DHS Immigration and Cus- to Twitter to claim credit for the of non-documented migrants about the decision of senior US Guatemala, Haiti and Hondu- which is Christmas Day, and po- ing into the United States from toms Enforcement (ICE) spokes- deportations – are vying for who crossing the US southern border offi cials to begin deporting fam- ras are among the worst victims. lice and fi re crews arrived within minutes. Once there, they detected a smell of an accelerant near where authorities believe the fi re began. Police are also analysing some Huge clean-up after storms black graffi ti at the scene for possible clues. There are currently no sus- pects, Wilson said. Built in 1917, the house be- kill at least 14 across states longed to Clinton’s grandparents and it was in its yard that the fu- ture 42nd US president played in Reuters/AFP Wednesday’s storm system that some 40 people were in- throughout the region. a sandbox and on a swing set, ac- Chicago triggered more than 20 torna- jured in the six counties that A rare tornado touched down cording to the Clinton Birthplace does in Arkansas, Illinois, Indi- bore the brunt of the storms, in Canton, Michigan, and about Foundation. ana, Mississippi, Tennessee and and that a seven-year-old boy 15,000 homes in the state and ecovery crews and util- Michigan, authorities said. was among those killed. neighbouring Wisconsin were ity workers began clean- One large tornado tore a 100- The boy was killed after one without electricity. Shooting at mall Ring up widespread dam- mile (160km) path through particularly brutal storm picked The National Weather Service age on Thursday left by severe northern Mississippi, demol- up and tossed the car he was posted a warning for gale-force Panic erupted at a US mall packed storms that spawned tornadoes ishing or heavily damaging travelling in, fi re chief Kenny winds on Lake Michigan, where with Christmas Eve shoppers on across six states in the US South more than 100 homes and other Holbrook told reporters in the waves were expected to crest at Thursday, where one person was and Midwest, killing at least 14 buildings before ploughing into town of Holly Springs, where 15 feet (4.6m). killed after what police described people and destroying scores of western Tennessee, authorities thousands greeted Christmas About 500 fl ights were de- as “an off icer-involved shooting”. homes. said. Day without power. layed or cancelled at Atlanta’s The shooting at the Northlake Emergency declarations were Mississippi Governor Phil Six storm-related fatalities Hartsfi eld-Jackson airport as Mall in Charlotte, North Carolina issued in Mississippi and Ten- Bryant declared a state of emer- were reported by authorities in Georgia’s capital was hit by a occurred following an altercation nessee, the two states hard- gency in areas aff ected by the Tennessee, and an 18-year-old thunderstorm. between two groups, according est hit by severe weather on storm, saying 14 tornadoes had woman was killed in Arkansas Meanwhile, much of the to a police department press Wednesday that also compli- touched down in his state. when a tree crashed into her Northeast enjoyed balmy release. cated getaway plans for travel- Bryant said seven people were house, authorities said. weather on Thursday, including “An argument started inside the lers looking to make the most of killed and one person was miss- Thirteen counties in Ten- New York, which surpassed its mall between two groups of the long holiday weekend. ing. nessee suff ered severe damage, record for the warmest Christ- subjects ... at which point off icers With about 100mn Ameri- “Everybody is pulling to- with a post offi ce destroyed and mas Eve by reaching 71° Fahren- who were working off -duty at the cans expected to travel over gether here in Mississippi today a state highway washed out, of- heit (22° Celsius). mall arrived on scene,” according the Christmas holiday, most to help respond to this disaster,” fi cials said. Cold and snow were forecast to a statement released by the of them by car, the National Bryant said on CNN. Emergency crews in Missis- on Christmas Day for much of A storm damaged house is pictured outside of Atkins, Arkansas in Charlotte-Mecklenburg police. Weather Service forecast isolat- The governor said that shel- sippi, Alabama and Tennessee the US West, including temper- this December 23 handout photo. High winds and heavy rain caused “There was one armed ed severe thunderstorms from ters had been set up and the full searched the ruins of splintered atures in the teens in Montana a large tree to become uprooted and fall on the house, trapping an subject that was shot during the mid-Atlantic region to the extent of the damage would not buildings for several people and snow likely in Washington, 18-year-old woman and an 18-month-old toddler. Emergency the altercation and he was Gulf Coast and record warmth be known for several days. listed as unaccounted for, and Oregon, northern California personnel were able to rescue the toddler, but the woman was pronounced deceased on scene.” in New York. Mississippi authorities said scores were reported injured and Nevada. pronounced dead.

Santa Claus and reindeer cleared Gas leak forces relocation of thousands to enter US: federal government AFP Los Angeles

Reuters Denver massive natural gas leak has forced the relocation Aof more than 2,000 fami- he US Department of lies in a California community, Agriculture (USDA) has with many reportedly falling ill Tgranted a fi rst-of-its kind from the noxious fumes spew- Christmas Eve waiver for a herd ing into the air since October. of reindeer to enter the United Under a court-ordered set- States, bypassing the agency’s tlement reached this week be- usually stringent requirements tween the gas company and Los on the importation of livestock. Angeles city attorneys, South- The agency said in a statement ern California Gas (SoCal Gas) issued on Thursday that it was must fi nd temporary housing allowing “S Claus of the North within 72 hours for any resi- Pole, broker of Worldwide Gifts” dents of Porter Ranch who ask to skip routine disease-trans- to be relocated. mission screening for live ani- As of Wednesday, the com- mals entering the United States, pany said it had relocated 2,147 noting that a recent inspection families in temporary housing, had deemed his hooved team a while hundreds more have left “negligible risk”. the area on their own. “During this season of giving, The gated community, locat- Storm clouds hang over the city as people continue to be eff ected by a massive natural-gas leak in the we agreed to waive the normal ed some 30 miles (48km) north- Porter Ranch neighbourhood of the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles. application fees and entry in- west of downtown Los Ange- spection/overtime costs,” said Dr les, sits near one of the largest ney earlier this month fi led suit greenhouse gas output by 25% eration, and drilling is expected John Cliff ord, the USDA’s Chief natural gas storage fi elds in the against SoCal Gas, saying that – this in a state that prides it- to begin in January.” Veterinary Offi cer. “USDA wants A man dressed as Santa Claus poses with children for pictures in New United States, where a leak was no community “should have to self on being an environmental He added the possibility of to do everything in its power to York City’s Times Square. detected on October 23. endure what the residents of leader nationwide. pumping fl uids directly down help Santa.” SoCal Gas says it would take Porter Ranch have suff ered from The Federal Aviation Admin- the aff ected well to stop the owfl The edict was one of several by Separately, the North Ameri- employs modern technology, in- several more months to repair the gas company’s continued istration (FAA) has meanwhile of gas was also under considera- federal agencies that they say are can Aerospace Defence Com- cluding a smart-phone app and the leak at its Aliso Canyon site, failure to stop the leak”. banned aircraft fl ights over the tion. designed to ease the movement mand (NORAD) in Colorado social media. while insisting that it poses “It’s not only the odour, it’s area as a precaution. Attorney Matthew McNicho- of Santa Claus as he makes his Springs, Colorado, is marking its In addition to providing real- no danger to human health as the potential health conse- A spokesman for SoCal Gas las, who has fi led suit on behalf global trek to deliver presents to 60th year of tracking St Nicholas time satellite tracking of Santa methane dissipates quickly into quences from the long-term told AFP that the company’s of several Porter Ranch families, good boys and girls. as he makes his annual world- on its website at www.noradsan- the air. exposure to chemicals like priority was to stop the leak said the gas company had acted US Transportation Secretary wide fl ight. ta.org, NORAD has a call line for But many families report fall- benzene,” attorney Mike Feuer while addressing the needs of recklessly by not informing the Anthony Foxx announced that The holiday practice origi- children to talk to a live operator ing ill from the fumes – with added. the community and the envi- community immediately as to he had approved an application nated in 1955, when a Colorado to get the latest news on Santa’s symptoms including nose According to the California ronmental impact. the nature and extent of the leak by “Mr Kris Kringle for special Springs newspaper misprinted whereabouts. bleeds and nausea – and have Air Resources Board, the leak Michael Mizrahi said the re- and by not implementing ap- air transportation operating the phone number of a local de- NORAD spokesman Mike Ku- fi led a class action suit against is releasing between 44,000kg lief well being drilled to inter- propriate safety measures. authority” to allow a reindeer- partment store for kids to call charek said a squadron of fi ghter the company and pulled their and 58,000kg (97,000 and cept and plug the damaged well “SoCal Gas did not maintain powered sleigh to traverse U.S. in and speak to Santa, instead jets briefl y escort Santa’s sleigh children from area schools. 127,000 pounds) of methane – at more than 8,000 feet un- their facility properly, leading airspace after it was equipped listing the number for what was when he enters Canadian and US Residents also fear that prop- into the air per hour. derground – could be completed to issues involving the health with supplemental safety and then called the Continental Air air space. erty values in the area – de- The last estimate on De- by late February or late March. and safety of residents and the navigation gear. Defence Command. “Santa has to slow down for scribed by the local council as cember 22 showed 30,300kg of “The relief well drilling proc- community at large,” he said in “The Federal Aviation Ad- An offi cer there took calls from them because he travels at the an idyllic “dream” community methane released per hour. ess is expected to operate 24 a statement. “They created the ministration has inspected the several children and assured speed of starlight,” Kucharek – will plummet because of the The board estimates that the hours a day, seven days a week,” conditions allowing the well to unusual vehicle and certifi ed its them Santa was on schedule, said, adding that his exact fl ight leak. leak is so large that it has in- he said. “A second relief well is fail, causing children and fami- airworthiness,” Foxx said. beginning a tradition that now plan is classifi ed. The Los Angeles city attor- creased the West Coast state’s being prepared as a backup op- lies to suff er.” Gulf Times 8 Saturday, December 26, 2015 ASEAN

Protesters hold posters and shout as they protest in support of Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun, two Myanmar migrant workers in Thailand, in front of the Thai embassy in Yangon yesterday. Right: Protesters hold pictures of the two Myanmar migrant workers, as they protest in front of the Thai embassy. Protest outside Thai embassy in Myanmar against murder verdict

AFP resort of Koh Tao in Septem- DNA evidence but still they got but it’s a judicial matter that following the verdict. Thai a wider trend of low-paid mi- two accused was “overwhelm- Yangon ber last year. The grim killings a death sentence. It’s unfair.” still has to proceed,” ambassa- prosecutors and police insist grant workers from neighbour- ing”. The court in Koh Samui also have sullied Thailand’s repu- Many held signs with English dor Win Maung told reporters their evidence against the men ing countries being blamed for dismissed the defence’s torture tation as a tourist haven and slogans such as “Save Myanmar through a translator. “I hope was rock solid, including DNA crimes in Thailand where the allegations. A statement from undreds of protesters raised questions over its jus- Poor Boys” and “Free Our In- this case will receive special found on Witheridge’s body. justice system is easily bent by Witheridge’s family that was re- demonstrated outside tice system after the defence nocent Citizens”. care and won’t affect bilateral But the defence, which has wealth and power. leased after the verdict did not HThailand’s embassy in accused the police of bungling Others held aloft pictures ties.” vowed to appeal the verdict, Hundreds of thousands of mention whether they thought Yangon yesterday after two My- their investigation and us- of Thailand’s King Bhumibol Other Myanmar officials disputed the forensic evidence, low-paid migrants from Myan- the convictions were safe. anmar migrants were sentenced ing the men as scapegoats - a Adulyadej, saying they were have said they intend to sup- saying it was improperly col- mar, Cambodia and Laos prop Defence lawyers visited the to death by a Thai court for mur- charge authorities deny. appealing to him for clemency. port the two men’s appeals. lected and processed. up key industries in Thailand death row inmates on Friday. dering two British backpackers, Hundreds of people, includ- A police cordon stopped pro- “The judicial process is not They also accused the police such as the tourism and fi shing “They seemed in good spirits, in a verdict that has sparked an- ing monks, gathered in Yangon testers demonstrating opposite over yet, we have much to do of torturing their clients into sectors, often experiencing well very strong,” Andy Hall, an advi- ger in their homeland. to protest at the verdict, many the embassy itself, confining such as discussing with respec- signing confessions, which they documented abuse and discrim- sor to the defence team who was Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Tun saying they believed the two them to the end of the street tive persons from Thailand and later retracted. Amnesty Inter- ination. on the visit, said. “They repeated were found guilty on Thursday men had been wrongly con- instead. appealing to the High Court,” national has called on Thai au- However the Thai authorities that the truth will come out in of killing David Miller, 24, and victed. “This is just discrimi- The rally came as Myanmar’s Hmuu Zaw, manager of the thorities to fully investigate the have received an endorsement the appeal and that they are con- the rape and murder of Hannah nation against us,” demonstra- envoy in Thailand met with President’s Office, posted on torture allegations, something from Miller’s family who backed fi dent they’ll be released.” Witheridge, 23, whose battered tor Min Thein Khaing said. senior government officials. Facebook. the rights group said had yet to investigators after the verdict The pair will soon be trans- bodies were found on a beach “There was little evidence, “After hearing the verdict, Thailand has warned its citi- happen. was announced, saying they be- ferred to a high security prison on the southern Thai diving no witnesses and not much as a human being I felt regret zens to take care in Myanmar Activists say the case refl ects lieved the evidence against the on the mainland, he added. Indonesia arrests two over New Year suicide terror plot

AFP Jakarta

ndonesian police said yes- terday they have arrested Itwo men, including a mem- ber of China’s Uighur minority, allegedly involved in a planned New Year suicide attack in Ja- karta. Police arrested an Indone- sian, named as Arif Hodayatul- lah, near the capital for driving Rescue team members and soldiers carry the body of a victim of the sunken ferry Marina Baru at Tobaku a car without a licence plate port in Kolaka Utara, in Indonesia’s Southeast Sulawesi province. and found several books about bomb-making inside the ve- hicle, according to a document seen by AFP. An anti-terror squad raided his house in West Java, where Ferry accident death they arrested a Uighur, identi- fi ed only as Alli, and confi scat- ed a suicide vest and material to assemble a bomb. “We also found a design toll climbs to 63 (of where the attack would be carried out), but we have only found one, we need to inves- AFP “If the information is correct, port town where the stricken tigate more,” national police Jakarta we are still searching for 15 other vessel was heading. Soelistyo spokesman Anton Charliyan missing people,” Soelistyo said, said according to the initial said late Thursday. adding that all the bodies found plan the search should end to- The arrests come at a time of he death toll from a ferry so far were within the search day but could be extended de- heightened alert after police ar- disaster in central Indo- area. pending on a final evaluation rested several other suspected Indonesian police hold their rifles as they stand guard in front of the Jakarta Cathedral to provide security Tnesia has risen to 63 with The ferry operator said the of the operation. The ferry sank extremists. ahead of Christmas celebrations in Jakarta. a handful of people still miss- boat was carrying 116 people on rough seas last Saturday with On Monday police in Java ing as the search and rescue when it ran into trouble, but survivors describing massive arrested fi ve suspects from a Christmas and New Year period Hodayatullah told police he that killed 202 people. operation winds down, an of- Soelistyo said there were two waves smashing into the vessel cell linked to the Islamic State and has increased security at was instructed by a man named But a crackdown has weak- ficial said yesterday. canteen staff who were not before the engine died and the group, and four from one linked its airports after a threat was Bahrunnaim, a militant resid- ened the most dangerous ex- Search and rescue agency mentioned on the manifest. order was made to abandon ship. to the Jemaah Islamiyah terror directed at one serving Jakarta. ing in Syria, to help Indonesians tremist networks. chief Bambang Soelistyo said Ten vessels — including navy The Indonesian archipelago network, responsible for several A police source, who de- wishing to join the IS group. However the emergence of IS as of yesterday morning 103 warships — and two aircraft are of more than 17,000 islands is major attacks in Indonesia. clined to be named, said Alli Indonesia suff ered several has sparked alarm that Indo- passengers aboard the ill-fated scouring the seas for any sign of heavily dependent on ferry serv- The country is deploying was believed to be a bombmak- major bomb attacks by radicals nesians returning from battle- boat had been recovered, with the missing, while families wait ices but fatal accidents are com- more than 150,000 military er and was chosen to carry out between 2000 and 2009, in- fi elds in the Middle East could just 40 found alive. anxiously for news in Siwa, the mon. and police personnel during the the suicide attack. cluding the 2002 Bali bombings revive them. Gulf Times Saturday, December 26, 2015 9 AUSTRALASIA/EAST ASIA French journalist faces expulsion Beijing awakens to DPA/AFP The foreign ministry did not Beijing immediately respond to calls and faxes yesterday seeking comment. he Chinese authorities Beijing considers condem- have informed French nation of attacks in Xinjiang by Tjournalist Ursula Gauth- foreign governments and the smoggy Christmas ier by telephone that she would international press as weak, have to leave China by Decem- and has slammed Western AFP white-out of haze as authorities ber 31 unless she apologised for countries for applying “double Beijing shut highways in the region and an article she wrote. standards” on terrorism in the grounded fl ights. The foreign ministry in Bei- wake of the attacks in Paris. More than 500 international jing told Gauthier, who works Gauthier was summoned eijing residents woke up to and domestic arrivals and de- for Le Nouvel Observateur twice to China’s foreign min- a white Christmas yester- partures at Beijing’s main airport (L’Obs) news magazine, that istry, which issues press cre- Bday morning but with the were cancelled due to “heavy fog her press visa would not be re- dentials to foreign journalists, sky obscured by thick toxic smog and low visibility”, its website newed – eff ectively an expul- before yesterday’s phone call. rather than snow after more than said. sion from the country – if she French offi cials, including 100mn people across China had “In this kind of weather, can did not apologise for an article France’s ambassador to China, been warned to stay indoors. Santa even fi nd Beijing?” a user on China’s reaction to the ter- Maurice Gourdault-Mon- The capital and surround- wrote on Sina Weibo. rorist attacks on Paris in No- tagne, have asked Chinese au- ing parts of northern China are In the neighbouring city of vember. thorities to reverse their deci- regularly blanketed in deadly Tianjin, no fewer than 19 free- “They confi rmed that if I did sion, but to no avail. pollution associated with heavy ways were closed early yesterday, not make a public apology on Gauthier sent a letter of ex- industry and an increase in coal according to the Tianjin Freeway all the points that had ‘hurt the planation to the Global Times consumption during the winter Management Offi ce’s offi cial mi- Chinese people’ ... my press in response to its campaign months. croblog, with CCTV television card would not be renewed and against her, but it went unan- Counts of PM2.5 – harmful reporting visibility of less than I would have to leave on De- swered. microscopic particles that pen- 5m (15 feet). cember 31,” she told AFP. “If I Bob Dietz of the Commit- etrate deep into the lungs – in “Santa can’t even get to Tian- had actually written what they tee to Protect Journalists con- Beijing peaked at 620 micro- jin! I was wondering why my accuse me of, I deserve to be demned the threat not to ex- grams (mcg, one-millionth of a stocking had no gifts in it! Smog put in prison, not expelled.” tend Gauthier’s visa, saying gram) per cubic metre as of early you better get out of here!” said “I will not deviate from my that conditions were getting yesterday, according to data from another Weibo commentator. story,” Gauthier told DPA. worse for foreign journalists the US embassy. Beijing issued its fi rst-ever red Gauthier’s article triggered working in China. The World Health Organisa- alert on December 7, declaring condemnation from Beijing “The abuse aimed at Ursula tion (WHO)’s recommended Residential buildings are barely visible amid heavy smog in Beijing yesterday. emergency pollution measures and a virulent campaign in the Gauthier makes it clear the maximum exposure is 25mcg following scathing public criti- state-run Global Times and government of President Xi over a 24-hour period. like Weibo platform. “Is this the ing factories to limit expelled in a four-tiered, colour-coded cism of the city’s weak response China Daily, as well as thou- Jinping is trying to force the “If this only happened a few new normal?” pollutants and schools to cease warning system. to choking smog that settled on sands of often violent and abu- same restrictions it has used days a year, I’d put up with it, but The city posted contradictory outdoor activities – while the The smog is expected to last the capital earlier in the month. sive comments from Chinese to stifl e its domestic media on it’s paralysing for it to be like this alerts for Christmas day, with the Beijing Municipal Environmen- until this afternoon. Its second and latest red alert, Internet users. Her photo was the foreign media,” Dietz said. every day!” said one angry social Beijing Meteorological Service tal Protection Bureau issued only Photos on social media showed which lasted four days, conclud- published online. “We call on Beijing to renew media user on China’s Twitter- issuing an orange alert – requir- a yellow alert, the second lowest empty freeways shrouded in a ed on Tuesday night. Entitled After the attacks Gauthier’s visa and to allow all (on Paris), Chinese solidar- journalists to work freely and ity is not without ulterior mo- safely in China.” tives, her essay spoke of Chi- The Foreign Correspond- na’s anti-terrorism policies in ents’ Club of China (FCCC) the country’s western region condemned the attempts to in- Controversial anti-terrorism of Xinjiang, homeland of the timidate Gauthier and Report- Muslim Uighur ethnic minor- ers without Borders described ity – many of whom complain Beijing’s behaviour as a defa- of discrimination and controls mation campaign. legislation to pass tomorrow on their culture and religion. Gauthier would be the fi rst Chinese authorities said foreign correspondent in Chi- they believed Gauthier’s ar- na to be expelled since the 2012 Reuters meaning it is certain to pass. its people, including ordinary ticle off ered justifi cation for expulsion of Melissa Chan, Beijing This week, the US State De- Americans enjoying Christmas violence in the region that the correspondent for the English- partment said it had expressed in Beijing’s Sanlitun,” it said. government labels as “terror- language service of Al Jazeera. “serious concerns” about the Offi cials in Washington have ism”. While the domestic media hina is set to pass its con- law which it said would do more argued the law, combined with “The article criticised Chi- is subject to strict control and troversial new anti-ter- harm than good against the new draft banking and insurance na’s counter-terrorism eff orts, many topics are taboo, the for- Crorism law tomorrow, the threat of terrorism. rules and a slew of anti-trust in- and denigrated and slandered eign media is free to publish on largely rubber-stamp parliament China’s foreign ministry hit vestigations, amounts to unfair Chinese policies. It provoked any topic. said yesterday, despite US criti- back, saying that technology regulatory pressure targeting the strong indignation of the Ursula Gauthier spent 10 cism about its cyber provisions companies had nothing to fear foreign companies. Chinese public,” Hua Chuny- years in China from 1979 to and concerns over human rights. and the US had no right to inter- China’s national security law ing, a foreign ministry spokes- 1989 and studied at Peking The draft legislation, which vene. adopted in July requires all key person, said at a regular press University before being ac- could require technology fi rms to On Thursday, the US embassy network infrastructure and in- briefi ng in early December. credited to L’Obs in 2009. install “back doors” in products took the unusual step of issuing formation systems to be “secure or hand over sensitive informa- Christmas security warnings for and controllable”. tion such as encryption keys to Westerners in Sanlitun, a popu- The US has also said the new the government, has also been lar Beijing diplomatic and enter- law could restrict freedom of ex- criticised by some Western busi- tainment district. pression and association. ness groups. Chinese police stepped up pa- Chinese offi cials say their Japan, South Korea to US President Barack Obama trols, though no specifi c threat country faces a growing threat has said that he had raised con- has been reported. from militants and separatists, cern about the law directly with China’s offi cial Xinhua news especially in its unruly Western meet on sex slavery Chinese President Xi Jinping. agency, in an English-language region of Xinjiang, where hun- In a brief statement, China’s commentary, said the US should dreds have died in violence in the National People’s Congress said stop harping on about the law past few years. DPA/Reuters that it would hold a news briefi ng and help Beijing fi ght terrorism Rights groups, though, doubt Tokyo tomorrow to talk about the law, instead. the existence of a cohesive mili- following the end of parliament’s “It is always the innocent peo- tant group in Xinjiang and say latest law-making session. ple that fall victim to terrorism the unrest mostly stems from oreign ministers of Ja- Parliament does not challenge and extremism, and that is why anger among the region’s Muslim An armed off icer of the Snow Leopard Commando Unit stands guard pan and South Korea will or block legislation proposed the Chinese government is tak- Uighur people over restrictions at the Sanlitun area, a fashionable location for shopping and dining, Fmeet in Seoul next week by the ruling Communist Party, ing concrete actions to protect on their religion and culture. in Beijing. to discuss new proposals to re- solve a row over the Japanese army’s historical use of sex slaves, the two governments said yesterday. “The issue is a very diffi - Aussies fl ee fi res as homes burn cult one but I will do the best I can until the last minute” to make some progress, Japa- Foreign Minister Kishida Reuters/DPA the losses. “This is a big fi re now. Another fi re on the outskirts of nese Foreign Minister Fumio answers questions after a Melbourne It is in dense forest. It will cause Melbourne earlier in the day was Kishida told reporters, ahead cabinet meeting yesterday at us problems for quite some time brought under control. of Monday’s talks with his the prime minister’s off icial now.” Although a change in the South Korean counterpart Yun residence in Tokyo. ire crews battled into the More than 150 fi refi ghters with weather was predicted, emer- Byung Se. “I’m ready to rack night yesterday after rag- eight aircraft and 60 fi re trucks gency services said the threat my brains, do my utmost and Tokyo is also considering Fing bushfi res reduced at spent the holiday fi ghting the was likely to remain for some sweat. We have been trying to sending letters from Abe to the least 53 homes to ashes in a fa- fi res. time. realise the agreement ... to ac- Korean women in an apparent Smoke rises from a fast-moving bushfire near the Great Ocean Road mous Australian beauty spot on The Great Ocean Road is one of In 2009, Victoria witnessed celerate talks and seek an early expression of regret, Kyodo in Victoria, Australia, yesterday. Christmas Day, sending hun- Australia’s leading tourist draws, Australia’s worst ever bushfi re settlement. This is part of this said. dreds of residents fl eeing for famous for its scenic landscapes disaster, which has since been eff ort.” The Nikkei business daily their lives. and for the bizarre rock for- dubbed “Black Saturday”. “We’ve almost drafted a reported that Japan would also Sex tourist fined over nude child pics Water bombing aircraft made a mations visible off shore in the Weather conditions reminis- resolution. The focus is now propose creating a govern- minimal impact on the fi res, of- Southern Ocean. cent of that period have been re- on whether we can reach an ment-backed fund as part of a A former school head teacher, who reportedly paid for sex with fi cials said, as fl ames set entire People in the popular tourist ported in the last few weeks, with agreement with the South Ko- possible agreement. 12,000 women in the Philippines, has been convicted in Japan for trees and hillsides alight in com- town of Lorne have been told to fi res not only in Victoria but in rean side,” an unnamed Japa- The Nikkei, citing a govern- taking photos of naked Filipino girls. munities along the Great Ocean evacuate as the fi re bears down several other states. nese government offi cial was ment source, said one proposal The Yokohama District Court sentenced Yuhei Takashima, 65, Road, a major tourist attraction on them and dozens of houses Fire offi cials said yesterday’s quoted earlier by Kyodo News was for a fund of more than to two years in prison with the term suspended for four years, a southwest of Melbourne. are on fi re in the coastal holiday disaster was likely to be one of agency as saying. ¥100mn ($831,877) that would spokesman told AFP. To the sound of blaring sirens, towns of Separation Creek and the worst to hit Victoria since Experts say up to 200,000 pay out 10 years’ worth of aid Takashima, who reportedly had sex with girls as young as 14, hundreds of residents cut short Wye River. 2009. women, many of whom were at once. escaped prison with a promise not to off end again. their Christmas celebrations and A man in Lorne identifi ed only Meanwhile, northern Australia Koreans, were forced into Meanwhile, Japan has de- Quoting the verdict, Japan’s Jiji Press said the girls pictured were fl ed to hastily organised evacu- as Mick told the broadcaster is bracing for a category 1 cyclone sexual slavery for the Imperial manded that South Korea re- “aged between 12 and 14” and were photographed at a hotel in the ation centres as the normally ABC that he had to break off his expected to hit over the weekend. Japanese Army before and dur- move a statue of a girl symbol- Philippines about two years ago. packed route was closed. Christmas barbecue lunch to The Bureau of Meteorology is- ing World War II. ising the sexual slavery issue According to local media, Takashima had meticulously catalogued Although no one had been pack up his car and leave town. sued a warning yesterday, saying The Korean peninsula was erected in front of the Japanese nearly 150,000 photographs of his sexual encounters over a 27-year confi rmed dead as of yesterday “It’s a massive plume of smoke that a cyclone is developing in the under Japanese colonial rule embassy in Seoul. period in around 400 separate albums. evening, one of Victoria state’s – it almost looks like a big nucle- Gulf of Carpentaria and could hit between 1910 and 1945. Tokyo’s offi cial stance is Takashima was quoted as having said in court that he “has a habit top fi re offi cials said that at least ar bomb,” he said. land by nightfall or this morning Abe agreed with South Ko- currently that the issue of of collecting things” and wanted “to keep the memories”. 53 homes had been lost to the The weather is expected to on the border between Northern rean President Park Geun Hye compensation was fully settled The former middle-school principal started paying for sex when he fl ames, while the fi re remained drop 10° Celsius overnight as Territory and Queensland. in November to speed up talks under a 1965 treaty with Seoul was dispatched to a Japanese school in Manila in 1988. out of control and the confi rmed a cold front arrives, but fresh Darwin, Kakadu National Park on the issue. that normalised diplomatic re- He later went on three sex tours a year to the country, making a number of properties destroyed winds are likely to push the fi re and the Tiwi islands were being One of the new proposals lations. total of 65 visits. was expected to rise. front towards Lorne, a popular lashed by heavy rain yesterday, is to expand by as much as 10 Many survivors of the war- During that time, he had sex with more than 12,000 women, with “There are a lot of areas we tourist centre. but the cyclone was likely to miss times the funds for a govern- time brothels have urged Ja- Nippon TV saying they were aged between 14 and 70. have not been able to get into,” Victoria’s emergency services Darwin. ment-run programme to help pan to issue an offi cial apology, Anyone who “possesses child pornography for the purpose of Steve Warrington, deputy head said at least 1,500 hectares (3,700 Darwin has been hit with provide medical and welfare make reparations and include satisfying his/her sexual interest” faces imprisonment of up to of the Country Fire Authority, acres) had so far been burned. heavy rains, topping 150mm yes- care to some of the victims, war-time atrocities in Japa- one year or a fine of up to ¥1mn ($8,300), according to the justice told the Australian Broadcast- It is the latest of a series of terday, as fl oods spread across Kyodo said. nese textbooks. ministry. ing Corporation as he detailed bushfi res to hit the state this year. northern Australia. Gulf Times 10 Saturday, December 26, 2015 BRITAIN

OFFBEAT LAW AND ORDER CRACKDOWN VERDICT CRIME Astronaut calls wrong Dead body found on train Greengrocer fined Student died after falling London’s most wanted number from space tracks outside station for rodent infestation off treadmill, inquest hears burglary suspects revealed

British astronaut Tim Peake gave an Police are investigating after a dead body was A greengrocer has been hit with a fine after A London student died after he fell backwards Scotland Yard has launched a fresh attempt unsuspecting woman a shock after dialling found on train tracks in south London. The body goods were found to have been gnawed at by off a treadmill while exercising. An inquest to capture London’s most wanted burglary the wrong number and saying: “Hello, is this of a man was found just outside East Croydon mice which left droppings throughout his store. heard that Kamrul Hassan, 23, was working suspects, including a man who is believed to planet Earth?” Major Peake, who is spending station shortly after 9am. A spokesman for Ahmed’s Fruit & Veg in Stepney was found to be out in a gym in Small Heath Leisure Centre have stolen 10,000 euros ($10,865) worth of six months on the International Space British Transport Police said the death was squalid when inspectors visited last November. in Birmingham when he died in August. The gold. Mugshot images of 12 alleged thieves Station, has apologised and insisted it was being treated as “unexplained” and it was “too Council off icials found “large quantities” of young gym-goer, who was studying business were released as police off icers attempt to track not a prank call. After the gaff e he tweeted: early to tell” if the person had been hit by a mouse droppings in boxes containing food in the capital, was not wearing a safety wire down the 11 men and one woman under the “I’d like to apologise to the lady I just called train. However, their injuries were said to be and cleaning products at the shop. Packets of when he fell backwards off the machine and ongoing anti-burglary operation, Bumblebee, by mistake saying ‘Hello, is this planet Earth?’ consistent with being hit by a train. He added: dried fish and other food products were also hit his head. Coroner Louise Hull said: “I have the Guardian reported. Among the suspects is - not a prank call ... just a wrong number!” “BTP is currently in attendance with colleagues found to have been gnawed by rodents, Tower watched the CCTV footage and it shows William O’Donaghue, 39, who is alleged to have Peake, 43, a former helicopter pilot, arrived from the London Ambulance Service, and a Hamlets Council said. The shop was closed due Hassan falling back, almost in a vertical stolen 10,000 euros worth of “irreplaceable” at the International Space Station (ISS) person has been pronounced dead at the scene. to the “extensive and uncontrolled” infestation. position and hitting his head. He appears gold of “great sentimental value” from a house on December 15. He is accompanied by Off icers are now working to identify the person Its owner, Abdul Malique, 47, of Jubilee Street, to have been fitting for quite some time.” in Croydon in June, the Metropolitan police said. American Tim Kopra, 52, and Russian Yury and establish how they came to be on the tracks Stepney, has been ordered to pay a fine of She ruled that Hassan’s death had been an Specialist teams are searching for the suspects Malenchenko, 53. and receive their injuries.” £1,500 and prosecution costs of £1,500. accident. across London. Soldier’s letters Queen attends service bring World War I Christmas truce to life

Pte Frederick Davies of shells bursting of a night, it’s just the Royal Welsh Fusiliers like fi reworks,” and said he was wrote home about life sending pressed fl owers home to on the western Front, in his mother. correspondence donated to The letters were discovered by the Imperial War Museum his granddaughter, Jane Oliver, after the death of her mother, Guardian News and Media who was Davies’s eldest daugh- London ter. The Christmas truce is said to have begun when British troops poignant description of heard German soldiers singing British and German sol- carols and patriotic songs and Adiers sharing meagre ra- saw lanterns and small fi r trees tions across no man’s land dur- along the German trenches. On ing the famous 1914 Christmas Christmas Day, in some parts Day truce of World War I is con- of the western front, soldiers tained in a newly revealed collec- emerged from their trenches and tion of letters. met in no mans’s land. They ex- Frederick James Davies, a pri- changed gifts, took photographs Queen Elizabeth leaves after attending the Christmas Day service at Sandringham, eastern England. The Queen used her traditional Christmas speech as an opportunity to vate in the 2nd Battalion Royal and some played football. reflect on a memorable year both within the royal family and around the world. Welsh Fusiliers, wrote home The temporary truces off ered about giving “cigs, jam and corn the chance to repair trenches and beef” to the frontline enemy bury the dead. These informal during the celebrated impromp- truces were not observed along tu ceasefi re, which saw some sol- the whole of the front line and it diers play football. is estimated that 81 British sol- Davies, from Lampeter, diers were killed on Christmas Wales, told his mother how both Day 1914. General hostilities re- Germans and British soldiers sumed on Boxing Day. climbed out of their trenches Davies died, aged 61, at a mili- in northern France to exchange tary hospital in Cardiff in 1959. Army deployed amid gifts and messages of good- During the war a trench caved in will. He had “a good chat with on him, shattering his spine. He the Germans on Xmas day,” he was invalided out in 1915, and, wrote, in letters recently donated confi ned to a chair, he was unable to the Imperial War Museum. to work properly after. “They were only fi fty yards He later married Hannah away from us in the trenches. They Isaacs, a munitions factory Cumbria fl ooding fears came out and we went to meet worker, and had three daughters, them. We shook hands with them,” settling in Porthcawl, but as he Agencies standby for more fl ooding as the ing flooding is possible. Around 40 roads and bridges torists on the road to “adapt their he wrote. “They also gave us cigars was unmarried when he left the London North braced for further wild remain damaged and closed, and driving style” and be aware of but they didn’t have much food. I army so was not eligible for a weather. The agency has eight hundreds of homes have been left changing conditions. think they are hard up for it. They pension for his wife and children. Major Nick Higgins, from 2nd fl ood warnings still in uninhabitable. “Please do not in any circum- were fed up with the war.” His youngest daughter, eavy rain is set to hit Battalion the Duke of Lancaster’s place, meaning fl ooding Early on Christmas Eve 2,000 stance ignore road closure signs He described coming out of Audrey Trenchard, now 86, but swollen rivers in Cum- Regiment, told Sky News it was is expected, with a further customers were without power in and continue on your journey,” the trenches “since Sunday for just 17 when her father died, said Hbria, where some regions “business as usual” over the fes- 82 fl ood alerts - meaning Ireland as Storm Eva crossed the said chief inspector Matt Ken- a few days rest. It’s nice to have a he had never spoken about his have been hit by fl ooding three tive season for the many soldiers fl ooding is possible country , with the worst aff ected nerley. night’s sleep from the wet but we war experiences, and “being the times within a month. helping prepare fl ood defences in areas including County Cork and “Driving through fl ood water still sleep in our clothes but I am youngest I hadn’t heard of any of Up to six inches of rain is ex- Appleby. The rain was expected to reach County Wicklow. Electricity was is extremely dangerous as you happy through it all. It’s no use this. It’s wonderful for me to fi nd pected in the county, which has Some 700 Environment Agen- parts of southern Scotland early restored for most by Thursday cannot determine the depth.” being otherwise”. out about it”. already suff ered the wettest De- cy staff have also been deployed on Boxing Day. evening. The Environment Agency said He added: “Don’t you worry The letter was a reminder cember since records began in as fl ood warnings were issued in Many towns and villages Storm Eva has now passed for the next three days along the about me. You buck up till I’ll “that the German’s weren’t all 1910. the North and Scotland. across Cumbria are still clean- over the north of the UK, but the River Severn in Shropshire, Tel- come home”, before signing off bad, they were family men like Ministers held a Christmas The agency has eight flood ing up from Storm Desmond army is bolstering fl ood defences ford and Wrekin and Worcester- “from your loving son Fred”. ours were. It’s very important to Day conference call to discuss warnings still in place, mean- earlier this month, which in Cumbria ahead of the further shire, and the River Ouse in York, In another dispatch he wrote: keep this sort of thing alive,” she the government’s preparations, ing flooding is expected, with a caused damage to hundreds of rainfall. there is a possibility of sections of “It’s a grand sight to see the said. with armed forces personnel on further 82 flood alerts - mean- homes and businesses. Cumbria Police are urging mo- roads being fl ooded. House prices seen Icy plunge Rickshaw fi rm owner backs £600 bill driver rising 6% in 2016 London Evening Standard for a 30-minute journey on De- London cember 18 in central London after a huge argument which was cap- Agencies also appeal to landlords, may in- Hometrack, expects house prices tured on video. But Durmus said: London creasingly fi nd themselves com- to increase by around 4% across he owner of a fl eet of West “If a rider charges one pound for peting with investors in the com- the UK next year - with particu- End rickshaws has defend- one minute you can’t stay in ing weeks. lar potential for price growth in Ted “rip-off ” fares after a London. You can’t survive. How he only way is up for house The Offi ce for National Statis- vibrant cities outside London driver was fi lmed trying to charge much are you going to make, £50 prices in 2016, according tics (ONS) fi gures show that av- with strong jobs sectors, such as £600 for a half hour ride. every day? It’s not enough. Tto property experts. erage house prices have already Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham Urban Bugs boss Murat Dur- “He agrees a price. How is that a Economists are tipping prop- hit a new record high of £287,000 and Glasgow. mus spoke out following the viral rip-off ? If there’s a regulated price, erty values to lift by between 3% across the UK in October. Property price growth could video, saying it was “just busi- then you can tell me it’s a rip-off .” to 6% generally across the UK Meanwhile, the Royal Insti- be around 3% to 4% annually ness” and up to each driver how And the 27-year-old insisted it next year, while some regional tution of Chartered Surveyors in London next year as afford- much they charge. was up to passengers to negotiate city hotspots could see stronger (Rics) has reported the supply of ability there is already particu- But Durmus, who hires out his a deal with the driver if they were price growth. new homes on the market falling larly stretched - while some big 40 bikes to self-employed riders unhappy with the charge, either The continued shortage of back to record lows in 2015. regional cities could see prices for £100 a week, said: “If I wasn’t before they got in the pedicab or homes for buyers to choose from, And a recent report compiled increase around twice as fast as a rickshaw rider I’d be annoyed as at the end of their journey. coupled with strong demand by the Centre for Economics and this rate, Donnell said, as buy- well. But it’s not a rip-off . If the The Turkish national, who set for properties on the back of Business Research (Cebr) pre- ers hunt for value outside the customer pays the money it’s not up his business two years ago, schemes such as Help to Buy, will dicted UK property values will be capital. a rip-off . also defended the rider in the vid- keep pushing property values in 50% or around £139,000 higher Simon Rubinsohn, chief econ- “If they pay that money it eo – who was out again last night an upwards direction next year, in 10 years’ time than they are omist for Rics, expects house means they’re happy to pay. He picking up Christmas shoppers experts believe. now. prices to increase by around 6% didn’t rob them. He didn’t hit and tourists on Oxford Street. A looming three percentage Cebr’s research, carried out next year across the UK, while them to get the money. They paid When approached by the point stamp duty hike for buy- for the National Association rents will see a 3% annual rise. him. It’s just business.” Standard, the driver declined to to-let investors could help get of Estate Agents (NAEA) and He said feedback from Rics’ Since the video was published comment. Durmus said: “He’s housing market activity off to an the Association of Residen- members shows that demand for this week, other London rickshaw having a headache with the other early start in 2016, as people rush tial Letting Agents (Arla), said homes is continuing to outstrip riders have called for regulation riders. What do people see from to beat the deadline. that by 2025, the average prop- the supply of new properties of the trade and criticised the fare the news? He’s a bad guy. This could mean aspiring fi rst- erty price in London could be coming onto surveyors’ books. Swimmers take part in the annual Christmas Day Peter Pan charged to Dutch tourist Engin Is- “But he’s not a bad guy, he’s not time buyers, who often are look- £931,000. “It’s hard to see prices doing Cup handicap race in the Serpentine River, in Hyde Park, guzar and his friend. begging, he’s not selling drugs, ing for properties at the cheaper Richard Donnell, director of anything other than going up,” London, yesterday. The pair managed to get their he’s not getting any benefi ts from end of the market which would research at property analysts he said. original £600 fare down to £250 the government.” Gulf Times Saturday, December 26, 2015 11 EUROPE Russia ‘warming 2.5 times quicker’ than world average

AFP “Climate change leads to pristine area, with locals and vironment ministry spokesman some areas in the Far East and weren’t before, there are land- Half of Russia’s auto transport Moscow growth of dangerous meteoro- campers forced to dig ditches as Nikolai Gudkov told RIA-Novosti southern Siberia are experienc- slides, fl ash fl oods, blow-outs still consists of ineffi cient vehi- logical phenomena,” the ministry state media at one point off ered agency yesterday. ing harsh winters. of gas condensate and so on,” he cles with polluting engines over a said in a comment to the report the theory that fi res were fuelled President Vladimir Putin rare- Out-of-control fi res and said. decade old, the report said. ussia is warming more published yesterday. by “self-igniting air” caused by ly voices concerns about climate deadly fl oods have hit Russia World nations earlier this Weather in Moscow and sur- than twice as fast as the There were 569 such phenom- ozone anomalies. change, having famously said nearly every year this decade, and month reached a climate accord rounding regions has been ab- Raverage for the rest of the ena in Russia in 2014, “the most Climate change has contribut- in the past that a little warming the emergency situations minis- in Paris which sets the goal of normally warm in recent days, world, the environment minis- since monitoring began”, the ed to unprecedented loss of wa- would not hurt the country and try in October conceded it has to limiting global warming to “well with historic temperature try said yesterday, sounding an ministry said, specifi cally men- ter in the Baikal itself, dropping seeing it as a boon for Arctic de- come up with a new strategy. below” 2° C over pre-industrial records broken every day of the alarm on the rise in fl oods and tioning last year’s ravaging fl oods to minimal water levels allowed velopment. “There are new threats in face levels, though experts warn that past week, the latest on Thurs- wildfi res nationwide. and this year’s “water defi cit” by the government several times Experts however have cau- of climate change,” Emergencies emissions-curbing pledges may day with 8.5° C (47° Fahrenheit) A report on environmental east of Lake Baikal, which led to a this year, including this week. tioned that warming could hurt Minister Vladimir Puchkov said be too little too late. in Moscow. protection said temperatures “catastrophic rise in fi res”. “The level of Baikal has energy infrastructure on perma- at a conference in October, add- While the total emission of The warmth led city hall to in Russia had warmed by 0.42° Fires around Lake Baikal, in- dropped to 456.1m (above sea frost in Siberia and increase other ing they require “new measures greenhouse gases in Russia has close the capital’s ice rinks, Celsius per decade since 1976, or cluding the nearby Irkutsk and level)” despite minimal water use risks. to protect infrastructure”. not grown over the past fi ve while bees left their beehives and 2.5 times quicker than the global Buryatia regions, tore through by hydropower stations down- The report states that while “Permafrost is receding, there years, car emissions are increas- snowdrops suddenly bloomed in warming trend of 0.17° C. hundreds of square miles in the stream on the Angara river, en- Russia is warming on the whole, are earthquakes where there ing. Moscow’s parks.

Migrants storm Spain border post

Hundreds of African migrants stormed the border between Morocco and the Spanish territory of Ceuta yesterday, and two migrants drowned and 12 Pope off ers message on others were hospitalised, off icials in both nations said. The incident happened around 4am (0300 GMT) near Benzu in the north of Ceuta with the migrants either scaling a barbed wire fence or swimming across to the Spanish city located on confl icts and migrants Africa’s northern coast. About 200 migrants tried to AFP Yazidis, Shias and other mi- a string of terrorist attacks that swim from Morocco into Ceuta, Vatican City norities across the region, killing blighted 2015. local authorities in northern thousands and uprooting an- “It is true that the world has Morocco told the state news cient communities from ances- had to confront moments of agency MAP. ope Francis off ered a tral lands. darkness this year, but ... ‘the Moroccan authorities intercepted Christmas message yes- “They hate diff erence, wheth- light shines in the darkness, and 104 would-be migrants and Pterday of mitigated hope er it is Muslims who think diff er- the darkness has not overcome recovered two bodies in the for an end to the world’s con- ently, Yazidis or Christians, and it’,” she said quoting the Gospel waters near the border post, they fl icts, backing recent accords because of them the Christians of John. added. on Syria and Libya and praising face elimination in the very re- A total of 130 people were those who shelter migrants. gion in which Christian faith killed in the November 13 attacks “We pray ... that the agree- began,” the archbishop of Can- in Paris, while this year has also ment reached in the United Na- terbury said in his Christmas seen a string of mass casualty 1 dead, 14 hurt in tions may succeed in halting as Day sermon. “This apocalypse is attacks in countries including eight-car pile-up quickly as possible the clash of defi ned by themselves and her- Nigeria, Syria and Iraq. arms in Syria,” he said, while alded only by the angel of death.” Meanwhile weather around One person was killed and 14 urging that “the agreement on He likened IS to Herod, who the world did not always co- injured in a serious Christmas Eve Libya be supported by all”. according to historical accounts operate with the “white Christ- highway accident near Cologne Delivering his Christmas mes- killed several members of his mas” narrative, as East coast in the western German state of sage from the balcony of Saint own family and in the Bible mas- Americans shed their sweaters North-Rhine Westfalia, police Peter’s Basilica, the 79-year-old sacred Bethlehem’s male infants to enjoy soaring temperatures, reported yesterday. Pontiff touched on several other to prevent the prophesied rise of while further south deadly tor- The accident took the life of a confl ict zones, including Iraq, Jesus. nadoes cut a swathe through ru- 51-year-old woman, left 11 others Yemen, the Democratic Republic The Middle East is home to ral communities. severely injured, and hindered of the Congo, Burundi and South ancient Christian and other mi- But Beijing residents woke up traff ic on the A4 highway for nine Sudan following a year of vio- nority communities, but their to a white Christmas of sorts – hours. lence and suff ering that forced Pope Francis delivering his Urbi et Orbi (to the City and the World) Christmas message from the numbers have diminished rap- the sky was obscured by thick According to Cologne police, the hundreds of thousands to fl ee balcony overlooking Saint Peter’s Square at the Vatican. idly in recent years amid war and toxic smog rather than snow accident occurred about 7pm their homes. mounting religious intolerance. after more than 100mn people (1800 GMT) when a 22-year-old The Pope, addressing tens The leader of the world’s 1.2bn to Muslim graves, as well as an- dwindling Christian community In many countries across the across China had been warned to lost control of his vehicle and of thousands of pilgrims in the Catholics also used the tradi- cient treasures like the temples trickling in to churches. world, Christians were fearful stay indoors. crashed through a median barrier sunny square, also decried “bru- tional Urbi et Orbi (to the city of Palmyra. She said that 12 of her relatives for their future, and some were Meanwhile the Twitterverse before coming to rest in the tal acts of terrorism, particularly and the world) address to de- The plight of embattled lost their homes when IS took even prohibited from celebrating enjoyed the off beat story of Tim opposite lane. the recent massacres which took nounce the destruction of cul- Christians in the Middle East, over Iraq’s second city Mosul in the holy day. Peake, the fi rst British astronaut Witnesses say the initial vehicle’s place in Egyptian airspace, in tural heritage. especially where they have been 2014 and ordered Christians to In Niger, where anti-Chris- on the International Space Sta- lights had been extinguished by Beirut, Paris, Bamako and Tu- In a clear reference to the Is- threatened by the advance of IS, convert to Islam, to pay a heavy tian riots in January left several tion, dialling a wrong number the accident. nis”. lamic State group (IS), he said has been thrown into the spot- tax as second-class citizens or people dead and destroyed many when trying to phone home for Approaching cars therefore After a year that saw more their “atrocities ... do not even light this year, and in Iraq, the face death. Christian churches and schools, Christmas, asking a woman: “Is became aware of his presence than 1mn migrants reach Eu- spare the historical and cultural mood was sombre. Anglican leader Justin Welby police stood on guard as wor- this planet Earth?” too late, resulting in a pile up of rope, Francis praised those who patrimony of entire peoples”. “We are praying for the res- said yesterday that Christians shippers fi led in for Christmas “I’d like to apologise to the seven further cars. shelter them, asking God to “re- IS has launched a campaign toration of peace and security faced “elimination” in the Mid- services. lady I just called by mistake say- Police said that among those pay all those, both individuals of destruction against buildings and the return of the displaced dle East by IS jihadists, labelling In her annual Christmas ad- ing ‘Hello, is this planet Earth?’ who were severely injured were and states, who generously work and monuments that fall outside to their land,” said a worshipper the group a modern-day version dress yesterday, Queen Eliza- – not a prank call ... just a wrong the 22-year-old and two children, to provide assistance and wel- its harsh interpretation of Islam, at Our Lady of Salvation church of the tyrannical king Herod. beth II of Britain highlighted the number!” he tweeted late on aged nine and 12. come” to them. ranging from Christian churches in Baghdad, one member of a IS has attacked Christians, triumph of good over evil after Thursday.

Turkish army operation rocks southeast Erdogan

Reuters talks man Diyarbakir out of xplosions and gunfi re re- sounded around the south- Eeastern Turkish town of suicide Cizre yestreay after a clash over- night that the army said killed six Kurdish militants and one sol- attempt dier, as a security operation there entered its 11th day. A security guard, part of Erdogan’s security detail, speaks to a man Since a two-year ceasefi re be- AFP standing behind the Bosporus bridge barrier in Istanbul. tween Kurdistan Workers Party Istanbul (PKK) militants and Ankara fell apart in July, the mainly Kurdish southeast has been plunged back urkish President Recep into a three-decades-old con- Tayyip Erdogan used fl ict which has killed more than This celebrated rhetorical 40,000 people. skills to save a life yesterday, A helicopter clattered over- preventing a man from jumping head and armoured vehicles sped off Istanbul’s Bosphorus Bridge. along a hilltop road above Cizre, The man was apparently near the Syrian border, as securi- preparing to jump to his death ty forces pressed on with a cam- when Erdogan’s motorcade was paign across the region involving passing over the bridge linking thousands of troops, backed by Europe with Asia after Friday tanks. Boys stand around a fire in Sur district where clashes have taken place between Turkish security forces prayers. Erdogan’s security guards escort the man to the president’s car. Reuters TV footage showed and Kurdish militants, in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir. News footage showed Erdog- smoke billowing from buildings an’s bodyguards bringing the hit by blasts, while streets were sick cannot even go to hospital. rity sources said four students 57-year-old mother of 11 shot sobbing man, who appeared to empty and shops shuttered. The wounded are trying to treat and two staff suff ered burns and dead by security forces last week, be in his early 30s, to talk to him The town, in Sirnak province, themselves at home and some smoke inhalation when PKK was left lying on a street in Silopi through the window of his car. is the focus of what the govern- died due to a lack of doctors and militants, their faces hidden by for a week before being retrieved After a few moments, the ment has described as an opera- blood loss.” scarves, threw petrol bombs in a yesterday, said HDP lawmaker man can be seen kissing Erdog- tion to “cleanse” the area of mili- Locals also complained about state-run cultural centre yester- Ferhat Encu. an’s hand. tants. a lack of food and water. day, triggering a fi re. Snipers killed her brother-in- The man was then escorted to But locals dispute that de- Both Cizre and Silopi, 30km They said a gunfi ght erupted law and wounded her husband safety, the Dogan news agency scription and complain that the (19 miles) away near the Iraqi between security forces and mil- when they sought to retrieve the reported. attacks are indiscriminate. border, have witnessed intense itants as the building was evacu- body. It said police had been trying “The recent war being con- fi ghting since a round-the-clock ated. Many parts of Silopi were for almost two hours to talk the ducted in the Sirnak area, espe- curfew was declared in both State media say 168 PKK mili- without electricity, and dozens man out of committing suicide cially in Cizre, is not a cleansing. towns 12 days ago. tants have been killed in the lat- of people were sheltering in the after he abandoned his car on They are shelling randomly,” said Three soldiers were wounded est security operations. The pro- basements of houses, the HDP the bridge and climbed over the shopkeeper Abdullah Varkin, in Thursday evening’s fi refi ght Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic said. side railing. 38, speaking as a small group and one of them died in hospital, Party (HDP) says at least 38 civil- The PKK is designated a ter- He has long been suff ering Erdogan meeting the man who was allegedly about to attempt of children and men looked on. the army said in a statement. ians have been killed. rorist group by Turkey, the US from depression due to family suicide off the Bosporus bridge. Pictures issued by the presidential “The people are miserable. The In the town of Sirnak, secu- The body of Taybet Inan, a and the European Union. problems, Dogan said. off ice. Gulf Times 12 Saturday, December 26, 2015 INDIA

COMPETITION TRAGEDY HONOURED POLITICS LAW AND ORDER Three found dead Minister gets top award Punjab Congress leader Explosives recovered on railway track for national eminence Sukhpal Khaira joins AAP from Jharkhand

Three people, including a woman, were found Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu was yesterday con- Just days after he attended a big rally of the In a joint operation of the Jharkhand police dead along with an injured man near a railway ferred the prestigious ‘SIES Sri Chandrasekharendra Punjab Congress in Bathinda and even wel- and paramilitary forces, 59 improvised ex- track in New Delhi yesterday morning, police Saraswati National Eminence Award’ for outstanding comed Amarinder Singh’s appointment as the plosive devices (IEDs) were recovered from said. The bodies and the injured man, identified leadership in public at a function in Mumbai. The Punjab Congress president, Congress leader the Maoist-hit Latehar district yesterday, a as Soorajbhan, 45, were found in a pool of blood award has been instituted in memory of late 68th Sukhpal Singh Khaira yesterday joined the Aam police spokesperson disclosed. The search around 6.30am near a railway track situated a Sankaracharya of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham Swami Aadmi Party (AAP). Though the move is seen operation was launched in Kumandih jungle few metres from Sarojini Nagar railway station Chandrasekharendra Saraswati, said South Indian as a blow to the Congress which is trying to re- situated under the Manika police station in south Delhi. One of the deceased, in his early Education Society (SIES) president V. Shankar. The invent itself ahead of the 2017 assembly polls, after a tip-off from arrested Maoist guerrilla, Young Sikhs wait for the judging of a turban tying 20s, was yet to be identified while the other two other awardees this year include Atomic Energy the Congress and the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal Mithilesh Yadav, according to the police. competition at a school in Amritsar yesterday. were identified as Ramesh, 40, a Delhi Police Commission chairman R K Sinha for science and dismissed Khaira’s joining the AAP as a non- The seized IEDs, which included 14 pressure The competition was organised by the Sikh or- employee who worked as a cook at the residence technology, Aditya Birla Centre chairperson Rajas- event. Khaira, a former Congress legislator, has cooker bombs and seven cylinder bombs, ganisation, Akal Purakh Ki Fauj to promote greater of a senior off icer of the force, and Meena, 40, a hree Birla for community leadership and interna- been a firebrand and outspoken leader of the were defused by the bomb disposal team. awareness of the turban. The turban is closely maid. “It seems they were hit by a train,” a police tional expert on Ayurveda, yoga and vedic astrology Congress. The Congress termed Khaira’s exit “a Maoist guerrillas are active in 18 of the 22 associated with Sikhism. off icer said. David Frawley. good riddance”. districts of Jharkhand.

Manoeuvre has opposition in a tizzy Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surprise visit to Paki- stan sent opposition leaders, diplomats and the media into a tizzy. Social media forums Modi, Sharif were buzzing with reactions, with #Lahore as one of the top Twitter trends. The visit was decided yester- day morning, a “spontaneous move” that happened when Modi called Pakistani Prime vow to pursue Minister Nawaz Sharif to greet him on his birthday, off icial sources told broadcaster NDTV. The meeting has been largely welcomed in the two countries, with several experts calling it a diplomatic peace after masterstroke that could help improve fraught ties. Media commentators lauded the goodwill gesture, describ- ing it as “visionary and brave.” Others said it was another example of Modi’s “out-of-the surprise visit box” thinking, away from protocol-ridden and conven- IANS Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Hours before he left Kabul for tional diplomacy. New Delhi Sharif were among the VIPs who Lahore, Modi addressed the Af- They compared it to Modi’s received Modi at the Allama Iqbal ghan parliament. decision to invite all South International Airport as Modi “Terror and violence cannot Asian leaders - including rime Minister Narendra landed in an Indian Air Force be the instrument to shape Af- Sharif - to his inauguration Modi returned to New plane. The two leaders then took ghanistan’s future or dictate the last May, which had also PDelhi yesterday from Kabul a helicopter to Raiwind. choices Afghans make,” Modi spurred hope for better rela- with a dramatic surprise stopo- Geo TV reported that the visit told Afghan MPs. Modi reached tions in the region. ver in Lahore where he and his “was not that surprising” as the Kabul early yesterday after a Pakistani analyst Mosharraf Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Lahore Air Traffi c Control had two-day visit to Russia. Zaidi said the visit demon- Sharif vowed to pursue the de- been told about it on Thursday. Modi said there were “some strated the deepening rap- railed bilateral peace process. But few in India and Pakistan who did not want us to be here”. port between Modi and Sharif During the stop over at Lahore, knew about the programme, “There were those who saw over the past months. Modi and Sharif spent some 90 which came at a time when bilat- sinister designs in our presence Separatist leaders from minutes at Sharif’s ancestral res- eral relations have shown defi nite here. There are others who were Kashmir also supported the idence in Raiwind town, about improvement after months of uneasy at the strength of our meeting. 40km from Lahore, and decided tension and border clashes. partnership. Some even tried to “The people of Kashmir to continue the suspended dia- The Pakistan Air Force pre- discourage us.” welcome any opportunity logue between the two countries sented a guard of honour for Modi said Pakistan must act that bring India and Pakistan after months of border tension. Modi. like a bridge between South Asia close. Political will and vision It was a telephone call from and Afghanistan. are needed on all sides to ad- Modi from Kabul greeting Sharif “Terror and violence “All of us in the region - India, dress issues especially Kash- on his birthday which triggered cannot be the Pakistan, Iran and others - must mir,” Mirwaiz Umer Farooq the dramatic journey -- his fi rst instrument to shape unite, in trust and co-operation, from the separatist Hurriyat to Pakistan and the fi rst by any Afghanistan’s future behind this common purpose group said. Indian prime minister in 11 years. or dictate the choices and in recognition of our com- But Omar Abdullah, the Sharif had attended Modi’s Afghans make” mon destiny.” former chief minister of oath taking in New Delhi in May Ahead of his address, Modi Jammu and Kashmir, said: 2014. The Pakistan government wel- and Afghan President Ashraf “More than grand gestures A Pakistani offi cial said Modi comed the development with Ghani jointly inaugurated Af- we need consistency. Look- also blessed the granddaughter Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaud- ghanistan’s new parliament ing towards the two PMs to of Sharif on her wedding. “Modi hry describing it as a goodwill building which was constructed correct it this time.” had no clue about the wedding,” gesture on the part of the Indian with Indian assistance of $90 India-Pakistan relations were he said. prime minister. million. plagued by “knee-jerk reactions Modi also met the Pakistani Modi and Sharif had fl eetingly After arriving in Kabul from and lack of consistency,” he leader’s mother. met at the Paris Climate Summit Moscow early yesterday morn- said. The opposition questioned The Indian premier report- on November 30, preparing the ing, Modi and Ghani held dele- the manner in which Modi an- edly told Sharif that it was im- atmosphere for a resumption of gation-level talks over breakfast. nounced the visit on Twitter and portant for the leadership of the the stalled bilateral dialogue. The Indian prime minister criticised it as another headline- two countries to understand each National Security Adviser also met Afghanistan’s chief ex- grabbing stunt that could have other’s position. The Pakistani Ajit Doval, who accompanied ecutive offi cer Abdullah Abdul- “serious implications” media said the two leaders had Modi to Lahore, met his Paki- lah and former president Hamid “India and Pakistan relations decided to take forward their bi- stani counterpart in Bangkok Karzai. are not so good as yet that lateral relations for the benefi t of earlier this month. This was Modi had left on Wednesday he stops over ... Why were South Asia. followed by External Affairs for a two-day visit to Russia for the parliament and country Modi and Sharif agreed to pro- Minister Sushma Swaraj’s visit the annual summit-level meet- kept in the dark?” opposition mote people-to-people contacts to Islamabad. ing during which the two coun- Congress spokesman Ajoy and confi dence building meas- The two foreign secretaries are tries signed 16 agreements, in- Kumar said. Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and Pakistan Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif walk through a guard of honour ures. set to meet in January, also in the cluding those related to defence in Lahore. Sharif and his brother and Pakistani capital. and nuclear production. India and Russia Kashmir protest Leaders greet ailing Vajpayee on birthday sign 16 agreements IANS In the latter two stints, he New Delhi headed the National Democratic Alliance governments led by the IANS number of other defence propos- be a partner in India’s prosperity. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), of Moscow als. These would boost defence The joint statement issued resident Pranab Mukherjee which he is the founder. manufacturing in the country during the visit said: “Russia and Prime Minister Naren- Bihar Chief Minister Nitish and India’s defence readiness regards India as a deserving and Pdra Modi yesterday led the Kumar also hailed the BJP vet- ndia and Russia signed 16 with next generation equip- strong candidate that can bring nation in greeting ailing former eran: “In a diverse country like agreements, including those ment,” he noted. an independent and responsible prime minister Atal Bihari Vaj- ours, Vajpayee is a shining exam- Ifor manufacturing Kamov Modi said co-operation be- approach within the UN Security payee on his 91st birthday. ple of tolerance and inspiration 226 helicopters and Russian- tween the two countries in nu- Council and reaffi rms its strong “Warm greetings and good for taking everyone along in the designed nuclear reactors in In- clear energy was increasing. support to India’s candidature wishes to Vajpayee on his birth- public life.” dia, even as Moscow affi rmed its “We are making progress on for a permanent seat in a re- day. May he be blessed with good Chhattisgarh Chief Minis- strong support for New Delhi’s our plans for 12 Russian nu- formed UNSC.” health, happiness and a long ter Raman Singh and Madhya UN Security Council member- clear reactors at two sites. These Among the other agreements fruitful life,” the president said in Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj ship bid. agreements will increase Indian signed were those related to rail- a message. Singh Chouhan also saluted Va- “We have laid the foundation manufacturing content in these ways, solar energy, heavy engi- Modi too extended birthday jpayee. of the future character of this reactors. It supports my mission neering and hydrocarbons. greetings. “We salute this great “Vajpayeeji has always been strategic partnership,” Modi said of Make in India,” he said. In the joint press conference, personality who provided ex- a source of inspiration to me. I at a joint press conference with Modi, who addressed a gather- Modi said he and the Russian ceptional leadership to India at a pray for his happy and healthy Russian President Vladimir Pu- ing of the Friends of India event president were “moving crea- crucial time. life,” Raman Singh said. tin after the annual summit-level at the Expo Centre in the evening, tively in expanding our economic “Be it as a party leader, par- Chouhan said Vajpayee was a meeting between the two sides in termed his visit to Russia as “very relations”. liamentarian, minister, prime politician who would not mind Moscow. successful and fruitful”. He also said he and Putin “have minister, Vajpayee distinguished taking a two-wheeler or an au- “The inter-governmental Earlier, Modi visited Russia’s a high degree of convergence in our A Kashmiri protester collects bricks during clashes with himself in every role. This is his torickshaw to reach a venue. agreement on manufacture of National Crisis Management positions on global issues and a police yesterday at a protest against alleged killings by the speciality,” Modi said. “And wherever he went, he won Kamov 226 helicopter in India is Centre (NCMC), also known as strong commitment to deepen our Village Defence Committee (VDC) members, in Srinagar. One of India’s most popular people’s confi dence.” the fi rst project for a major de- EMERCOM, where he was given international co-operation”. Violence erupted in the Maisuma area of Srinagar after politicians, Vajpayee was prime Former Jammu and Kashmir fence platform under the Make a rundown on how it works. Modi pointed out that with one police detained Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) minister three times - fi rst in chief minister Omar Abdullah in India mission. It is rightly He, along with Putin, also ad- of the world’s largest reserves of chairman, Yasin Malik, as he was trying to lead a march to 1996 (May 16-31) and later for said: “A very happy birthday to with our most important defence dressed chief executives of Rus- hydrocarbons, Russia could be a protest the killing of three persons allegedly by the VDC two consecutive stints between Vajpayee Sahib. A great human partner,” the prime minister said. sian and Indian companies and critical source of energy security members. March 19, 1998 and May 13, being and an amazing prime “We have made progress on a invited Russia’s private sector to for India. 2004. minister to work for.” Gulf Times Saturday, December 26, 2015 13 INDIA

LAW AND ORDER COMMENT CRIME EDUCATION CLARIFICATION Schoolgirl’s death being Hyderabad is for Murder accused policeman No salary hike for Terror suspect did not visit probed after protests Hyderabadis: Owaisi found dead in custody principals of dirty schools Odisha secretariat: police

Police yesterday were investigating the suspected Stating that Hyderabad is for Hyderabadis, A Goa police constable, accused of murder, The Delhi government has decided to withhold Though the BJP is seeking a judicial probe into gang-rape and killing of a 15-year old schoolgirl MIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has called upon allegedly committed suicide in a police lock-up. salary increment of school principals for failing the links of an arrested Al Qaeda terror suspect, in Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh district after angry people to reject outsiders in the ensuing Three police constables were suspended over to conduct a cleanliness drive in their schools including with Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leaders, the protests. The girl was allegedly pulled off her elections to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal the incident yesterday. Arrested this week despite warnings. Deputy Chief Minister and Odisha Police yesterday denied the suspect bicycle by four men on Wednesday. She was taken Corporation (GHMC). He said the Majlis-e- in connection with the murder of one Ratan Education Minister Manish Sisodia yesterday visited the state secretariat this October. Police to a nearby field, where the men allegedly raped Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) will contest 70-75 Carol, police constable Devidas Sinari was said some 150 of the 1,000 government commissioner R P Sharma said terror suspect her before strangling her, police off icer Hemraj out of 150 seats. Adressing a public meeting, the found hanging in the lock-up at a police station schools did not follow government instruction Abdul Rehman never visited the state secretariat. Meena said. Her body was found by villagers, Hyderabad MP said he was confident that a MIM at Usgao. Sinari was arrested after severed, to clean their premises. “Of these schools, Sharma added that during interrogation, who launched protests accusing the police of leader will again become Hyderabad’s mayor. decomposed limbs and the headless corpse of some were very dirty. We have decided to Rehman, currently on a 12-day remand with Delhi not taking action to find the perpetrators. Four In the outgoing GHMC, MIM shared power with Ratan Carol, who was reported missing since not give increment to these principals for Police, denied ever visiting the state secretariat. policemen were hurt during the demonstrations. Congress. Owaisi had a dig at Congress party’s December 17, surfaced at diff erent spots in the two years,” Manish Sisodia said. “I had given Meanwhile, the BJP yesterday demanded a judicial “The cause of the girl’s death will be clear after Telangana unit chief Uttam Kumar Reddy for his Chapora river. Police believe that the murder all schools a deadline to clean the premises. probe by a judge of the Odisha High Court. Senior the autopsy,” Aligarh police chief J Ravinder Goud remarks against MIM and for meeting people was a result of personal enmity. Sinari’s brother, I even asked them to hire labour to do that,” BJP leader Biswabhusan Harichandan said a said. Two people were taken in for questioning. involved in the bid on the life of his brother. Dattaguru, was also arrested in the case. Sisodia said. judicial probe into the whole issue was needed. Badal fumes Eight die in bus crash as BJP plays politics over airport naming

IANS minal that was inaugurated by Chandigarh Modi on September 11 without the facility bearing a name. The terminal building is actually in he name Mangal Sein Punjab’s Mohali town. may not ring a bell with What has upset Badal and Tmost people in Haryana others is the fact that Pun- or Punjab but Haryana Chief jab and Haryana, which have Minister Manohar Lal Khattar of a 24.5% stake each in the air- the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) port terminal project, had long has stirred a hornet’s nest by agreed that it should be named proposing that the Chandigarh Shaheed Bhagat Singh Inter- International Airport be named national Airport. The Punjab after the late RSS leader. This has and Haryana assemblies had, raised the hackles of those who in 2009 and 2010 respectively, want the facility to be named passed resolutions on this. after the famous freedom move- Khattar’s Mangal Sein stance ment martyr Bhagat Singh. is being seen as the Haryana Khattar’s recent letter to the government’s move retracting union civil aviation ministry on from the Haryana assembly’s Mangal Sein is now being seen unanimous resolution. Mangal A policeman stands beside the mangled remains of the bus which met with an accident in Tumkur district of Karnataka yesterday. Eight people were reportedly killed in as a move to demean the name Sein’s claim to fame is briefl y the accident. and sacrifi ce of Bhagat Singh, being Haryana’s deputy chief a national icon of the country’s minister in late 1970s, being a freedom struggle. An angry seven-time legislator and being Punjab Chief Minister Parkash the Haryana BJP president. Singh Badal has shot off an The issue was raised in parlia- emotional letter to Prime Min- ment by Congress MP Ravneet ister Narendra Modi, terming Bittu, to which Minister of Khattar’s move “distasteful”. State for Civil Aviation Mahesh “(We) remain convinced that Sharma replied: “In a subse- considering the massive na- quent letter, the chief minister tional following Sardar Bhagat of Haryana has requested nam- Kejriwal dares Modi and Singh enjoys, no one would even ing the international terminal consider opposing the proposal. as Dr Mangal Sein International Any controversy on the mat- Airport Chandigarh. The pro- ter needs to be snuff ed out as posal was examined in consul- quickly as possible,” Badal, who tation with the ministries con- at 88 years is the oldest serving cerned and the governments of chief minister in the country Haryana and Punjab. However, Jaitley over DDCA probe and whose Shiromani Akali Dal due to non-consensus between is a long-time ally of the BJP, Haryana and Punjab, the airport IANS mission (set up by our govern- other leaders of the Aam Aad- substitute of truth. Lumpeni- falsehood without ever stat- said in his letter to Modi. terminal could not be renamed.” New Delhi ment),” Kejriwal tweeted. mi Party for linking him with sation of public discourse can ing the specifi cs. The AAP’s “It is distasteful and even an Badal, in his letter, has stated: “We did not fear your raid, the alleged corruption in the never be high point of politics,” success in Delhi seems to have aff ront to all our great national “There was a general national why are you afraid of the en- DDCA. Jaitley said in a Facebook post. misled the Congress party that icons even to drag the issue of consensus on naming the inter- hief Minister Arvind quiry commission?” The BJP has suspended its “Functionaries of the Delhi vulgarity brings votes,” he said. naming the international air- national airport at Mohali after Kejriwal yesterday The Delhi government has MP Kirti Azad for campaign- government and its supporters BJP veterans, including port at Mohali after Shaheed-e- the martyr-supreme, Shaheed- Csought to know why set up an enquiry commis- ing against Jaitley on the same have lowered the level of politi- former president L K Advani, Azam Sardar Bhagat into a con- e-Aazam Sardar Bhagat Singh Prime Minister Narendra Modi sion to probe the allegations issue. cal discourse,” he added. met on Thursday amid signs troversy. Even to raise a question and a formal and fi nal decision and Finance Minister Arun of corruption in the Delhi and Earlier Finance Minister Jaitley also said people in that a section of the party is on any proposal to name a na- to this eff ect should be taken Jaitley were “afraid” of a probe District Cricket Association Arun Jaitley took a dig at Ke- positions were expected to act not happy over the suspension tional project after him would without any further loss of into the aff airs of Delhi’s cricket (DDCA) which Jaitley headed jriwal for his remarks against with restraint. of MP Kirti Azad for taking on be unsavory and a disservice to time.” body. for 13 years until 2013. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, “They cannot be outlandish. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley all those who, like Shaheed-e- Badal also appealed to Modi Referring to the Central Bu- Kejriwal said many television saying the AAP and its sup- Vulgarity is not a right available over alleged corruption in Del- Azam, put the interests of the “to intervene personally to put a reau of Investigation (CBI) raid channels were claiming the porters have lowered the level to them,” he said. hi’s cricket body. nation above anything person- quick end to any controversy on on Delhi Secretariat on Decem- commission of enquiry he had of political discourse. Jaitley accused the Aam In a related development, al,” Badal added. the issue as this was creating a ber 15, Kejriwal said: “We (Aam ordered was “illegal”. The chief “The political discourse Aadmi Party of spreading more than 100 supporters of The Chandigarh Airport has very unsavoury situation for all Aadmi Party) co-operated with minister asked: “Was the CBI cannot be couched in vulgar falsehood, and also targeted the Azad, staged a noisy protest got a new terminal building, those who take pride in our na- your raid, you must also co- raid legal?”. language. Falsehood delivered Congress. outside the BJP headquarters including an international ter- tional martyrs”. operate with the enquiry com- Jaitley has sued Kejriwal and with vulgar overtones is not a “They rely heavily on general here against his suspension. Cold wave sweeps Veteran Bollywood actress Sadhana dies

across north India IANS of the movie appeared on the Mumbai cover of a fi lm magazine, it was noticed by a prominent produc- IANS state yesterday. celsius. The humidity was 83%,” er, Sashadhar Mukherjee, and Srinagar The minimum temperatures in a MeT department offi cial dis- eteran Bollywood actress she joined his acting school. the tourist destinations of Gul- closed. Sadhana Shivdasani, 74, Sadhana’s co-student then marg and Pahalgam were minus Mercury plummeted in parts Vdied yesterday morning was her future co-star Joy here was no respite from 10.2 degrees and minus eight de- of Rajasthan too with Churu the in Mumbai after a long bat- Mukherjee. The duo starred in cold and chilly weather grees respectively. coldest place with a minimum tle with cancer, a family friend Love in Shimla, a musical super- Tconditions in Jammu and The overnight minimum in temperature of 0.4 degree celsius, said. hit of 1960 produced by Sashad- Kashmir yesterday as the mini- Jammu city was 3.4 degrees near freezing point. She was a widow, and is sur- har Mukherjee for Filmalaya mum temperature continued to whereas the maximum was l The night temperatures dipped vived by her foster daughter. Productions and directed by his fall further in most places in the around 17.5 degrees yesterday. by 2-4 notches in the state, a Met “Sadhana died at her home yes- son R K Nayyar, whom she mar- state. In the Jammu region, the mini- department offi cial said. terday morning,” a close friend ried later. Leh town in Ladakh region was mum temperature was 4.5 degrees Intense cold wave swept Pun- and BJP city spokesperson Shai- She never looked back since the coldest in the state yesterday. in Katra town, 2.7 degrees in Bani- jab and Haryana with Amritsar na N C said. and followed with the highly- It recorded the season’s lowest hal, 0.6 degrees in Batote, 0.5 de- recording the lowest temperature A top-rung Bollywood star in acclaimed fi lm Parakh the fol- temperature so far at minus 16.2 grees in Udhampur, 2.1 degrees in of minus 0.3 degrees celsius in the the 1960s and 1970s, Sadhana lowing year and another musi- degrees Celsius, a further drop of Bhaderwah town and 3.4 degrees region as mercury dropped by sev- was born in Karachi, now in Pa- cal superhit Hum Dono with the over three degrees from Thurs- in Kathua, the meteorological of- eral notches below normal level in kistan. However, after partition, legendary Dev Anand. day’s minus 12.9 degrees. fi ce said. both states. when she was barely seven, her Paired with the top heroes of Kargil town in the same region Delhiites too woke up to a chilly Reeling under severe cold con- family migrated to India and that era, Sadhana continued her remained at minus 15 degrees. Christmas morning with the min- ditions, Amritsar recorded mer- settled in Bombay. trailblazing career with notable A continued dry weather spell imum temperature settling at 5.5 cury at minus 0.3 degrees celsius, She entered fi lms as a child films like Ek Musafir, Ek Hasi- has increased the chill in Kashmir, degrees celsius, two notches below four notches below normal, a MeT artiste in 1955 with a minor role na, Asli Naqli, Mere Mehboob where minimum temperatures normal for this time of the season. report said. in Raj Kapoor’s fi lm, Shree 420. - her first colour movie, Woh dipped several degrees below the A few areas in the city witnessed As cold wave tightened its grip, Later, in 1958, she acted in In- Kaun Thi, Rajkumar, Waqt, freezing point, mainly due to a shallow fog with the visibility be- Narnaul in Haryana recorded the dia’s fi rst Sindhi language fi lm Aarzoo, Mera Saaya, Gaban, Ek clear night sky. ing recorded at 1,000 metres. second lowest minimum at one ‘Abaana’ in a signifi cant role, on Phool, Do Mali and many oth- Earlier a local meteorological “The minimum temperature re- degree, down by fi ve notches be- a token payment of Re1. ers till her voluntary retirement offi ce forecast dry weather in the corded at 8.30am was 5.5 degrees low normal. A man walks through snowfall in Anantnag, Kashmir. When a promotional picture from Bollywood in 1994. Gulf Times 14 Saturday, December 26, 2015 LATIN AMERICA

COMPENSATION JUSTICE POLITICS ANNOUNCEMENT OFFBEAT Families of Brazil mine spill Ex-governor jailed Committee looks to end Panama Canal expansion Police help woman victims off ered $25,600 for embezzlement Haitian electoral crisis on track to finish in April give birth in car The families of people killed and missing after A Mexican judge has sentenced a former regional A commission set up to evaluate the electoral The Panama Canal expansion will be completed Two Mexico City police off icers helped a 23-year- a catastrophic collapse of a waste water dam at governor from the main conservative opposition process in Haiti has begun its work following the by April 2016, the agency that operates the old woman give birth to a baby girl inside a car, a mine in Brazil last month were each off ered party to two years and three months in prison for postponement of a presidential run-off that had waterway said. The Panama Canal Authority off icials said. The capital’s public safety secretariat $25,600 by the company responsible. Seventeen embezzlement, the government of Aguascalientes been set to take place tomorrow. The five-member (known by its Spanish acronym ACP) said it said the two off icers were on routine patrol when people died and two people were declared missing state said. Luis Armando Reynoso Femat, 58, was group has until December 30 to submit proposals had fulfilled its payments for the expansion in a 50-year-old woman approached them and after the November 5 disaster at the Samarco governor of the state in north-central Mexico for on how to proceed, Prime Minister Evans Paul said. keeping its contract with United for the Canal told them her daughter was in labour. Aided by iron ore mine near Mariana in southeastern Brazil. the National Action Party from 2004 to 2010, when The independent commission includes human Group (GUPC), the multinational consortium a paramedic who was passing through the area Samarco, which runs the facility, is a joint venture it was recaptured by the Institutional Revolutionary rights activists and church leaders. “We are at an in charge of building the third set of locks on a motorcycle, they helped the young woman of mining giants Vale of Brazil and Australia’s BHP Party (PRI) of President Enrique Pena Nieto. In a impasse,” Paul said. “It is important to establish designed to accommodate today›s much larger deliver her child. Shortly after the baby was born, Billiton. Samarco said it was paying 100,000 reais - statement, the Aguascalientes attorney general’s political stability. It is important to choose a new cargo ships, Xinhua reported. The expansion an ambulance arrived on the scene to provide $25,600 at current exchange rates - to each of the off ice said a state judge had sentenced Femat president.” The electoral council in Port-au-Prince project began in September 2007 with an initial the woman with further medical assistance. Last victims’ families after reaching a partial settlement for embezzlement after finding he had sold on Monday abruptly postponed the scheduled investment of $5.25bn and the new locks had week a woman from Puebla went into labour while with authorities in the Brazilian state of Minas state-owned land to a developer while serving as second round of the impoverished country’s been expected to begin operating in August travelling in Mexico City, although in that case Gerais, where the mine is located. governor at a price far below its market value. presidential election to an unspecified date. 2014. there was time for her to give birth in a hospital.

Activist reunited with stolen granddaughter 39 years later

AFP you were alive,” she wrote in Buenos Aires one letter last March. “My dream, at 91 years old, is to hug you and recognise he long-lost grand- myself in your eyes.... The daughter of a founder greatest wish that keeps me Tof an Argentine rights going is for us to find each group that fi ghts to fi nd ba- other at last.” bies stolen by the 1976-1983 Clara Anahi was abducted military dictatorship has been by a police officer on Novem- found, her organisation said. ber 24, 1976, when regime Clara Anahi Mariani, agents killed her mother, who was abducted at three Diana Teruggi de Mariani, in months old when regime a raid on their house in the agents killed her mother, town of La Plata, 60kms out- is the 120th stolen baby to side the capital Buenos Aires. be found since her grand- Diana was a member of the mother Maria “Chicha” Montoneros, a leftist guer- Mariani helped found the rilla group that opposed the Grandmothers of the Plaza regime, and was killed along- de Mayo to look for them in side three other members in a 1977. hail of bullets. “After 39 years of tire- Her husband, Daniel Mari- less searching, Chicha Mari- ani, was not at home when ani and her granddaughter regime forces struck that day, Clara Anahi have found each but was killed eight months Locals attempt to recover belongings at a flooded neighbourhood in Asuncion . other,” said a statement from later. the Anahi Foundation, which The Anahi Foundation Mariani created in 1989 after bought the house where Di- stepping down as president ana was killed in 1998 and of the Grandmothers of the has opened a museum there Plaza de Mayo. dedicated to chronicling the It said DNA testing had regime’s abuses. confirmed with 99.9% cer- The walls are still scarred tainty that the woman iden- with the bullet holes left Five people dead, 150,000 tified as Clara Anahi is Mari- there 39 years ago. ani’s granddaughter. Mariani’s story recalls that An estimated 500 babies of her fellow activist Estela were stolen by Argentina’s Carlotto, the current president military regime, which ab- of the Grandmothers of the ducted, tortured and killed Plaza de Mayo, who found her evacuated in Latam fl oods opponents and suspected missing grandson in August sympathisers. 2014 after a 36-year search. AFP guay’s international Route 2, Around the capital Asuncion with nonstop rain throughout the damage and assess disaster relief Some 30,000 people were Such stories revive deep Asuncion which links Asuncion and Foz de 125,000 homes were without night, Mayor Enrique Crest said. needs. killed or “disappeared” dur- emotions in Argentina, where Iguazu in Brazil were killed when power and 17 power distribution “This is the worst fl ooding in The country has declared a ing the dictatorship. the wounds of the so-called a tree fell on their vehicle before centres knocked out across the 50 years,” he said, adding that al- state of emergency for the Pana- Babies born in captiv- “Dirty War” have not com- looding dampened Christ- dawn. country. though “fl ooding was predicted ma, Uruguay and Paraguay rivers ity to political prisoners or pletely healed. mas celebrations in parts Another woman travelling Northeastern Argentina also due to El Nino, no one thought and their tributaries, following orphaned by assassinations The Grandmothers group Fof Latin America, leaving by motorcycle in Asuncion was reported widespread disruption that it would be so substantial.” exceptionally high rainfall. were given to families sym- said calls from people seek- fi ve people dead and driving al- killed by a falling tree overnight, and one fatality from the worst The city is located 18kms from In November and December, pathetic to the regime or even ing information on DNA test- most 150,000 from their homes offi cial sources said. fl ooding in half a century. the Salto Grande dam, which the Rio de la Plata river basin in taken in by their parents’ ing increased from an average in Paraguay, Argentina and Uru- The National Emergency Sec- A 13-year-old boy was elec- was helping to hold the waters Argentina’s northeast received killers. of 15 a day to 300 after Car- guay. retariat (SEN) reported a dozen trocuted by a power cable while back, but was nearing its full ca- between 150 and 300 millime- The case of Clara Anahi lotto found her grandson. Some 130,000 people have other similar incidents in the trying to assess storm damage pacity, Crest said. tres more rain than is typical for drew international atten- In 2012, former dictators been forced from their homes capital. to his home in the city of Corri- The governor of Entre Rios the period, the farm industry tion through a series of open Jorge Videla, who has since across Paraguay, offi cials said, The agency’s head of opera- entes, local media reported. said the total number of evacu- ministry said in a statement. letters that Mariani, who is died, and Reynaldo Bignone as President Horacio Cartes de- tions, David Arellano, said res- In Entre Rios province at least ees across the province could rise Uruguay also declared a state nearly blind, had written her. were sentenced to 50 years clared a state of emergency to cue and evacuation operations 10,000 people were evacuated, to “between 16,000 to 20,000.” of emergency in three northern “They tried to convince and 15 years in prison, re- free up more than $3.5mn in dis- were underway for dozens of with Concordia, a city of some Argentina’s Vice President, departments aff ected by ood-fl me that you were killed along spectively, over the regime’s aster funds. families in the face of fl oodwa- 170,000 on the banks of the Uru- Gabriela Michetti, travelled to ing. The number of displaced with your mother, but I knew theft of babies. Three people travelling Para- ters from the Paraguay River. guay River, the worst aff ected the aff ected region to view the people has reached almost 5,500.

Giant cookie Cuba migrant crisis in Judge orders media C America ‘may worsen’ regulator’s eviction AFP Federal prosecutor Carlos Buenos Aires Stornelli charged Sabbatella AFP Nicaragua has been re- The Red Cross said tem- with “usurping authority” and Panama City fusing them entry since porary shelters set up for “disobedience,” and asked a mid-November, forcing the migrants in Paso Canoas n Argentine judge or- judge to authorise a raid of AF- Costa Rica to make increas- were collapsing under the dered police to raid SCA headquarters. building crisis in Cen- ingly desperate pleas to oth- sheer numbers of people. Athe national broadcast Judge Julian Ercolini granted tral America of US- er Central American nations He said there was a need for media regulator and evict its the request, ordering authori- A bound Cubans being to take the Cubans in to allow blankets and pillows. sacked director after he defi ed ties to search the building for blocked at borders could “spin them to continue their jour- Among the migrants are conservative President Mauri- any “unauthorised persons” out of control” on the frontier ney to the US. pregnant women, and one cio Macri’s decision to replace and remove them by force if between Costa Rica and Pana- Faced with refusals by Cuban woman told the news- him. they refused to leave on their ma, the Red Cross warned. the other countries, Costa paper La Estrella de Panama Macri issued a decree on own. “If Costa Rica doesn’t give Rica last week announced it that she had to confide her Wednesday sacking Mar- The row is the latest twist in a visas to the Cubans stranded would issue no other visas to son to a Costa Rican couple tin Sabbatella, a top ally of his long-running controversy over in (the border town of) Paso arriving Cubans and threat- for months to avoid him go- leftist predecessor Cristina the 2009 media law passed un- Canoas, we should be pre- ened to deport them back to ing hungry. Kirchner, as director of the Fed- der Kirchner. pared,” Victor Hall, of the their homeland. Panama’s Foreign Min- eral Authority for Audiovisual The law aimed to break up Panamanian Red Cross, said Hall said that the Red ister, Isabel Saint Malo, Communication Services (AF- what Kirchner described as me- in a telephone interview. Cross “understands that told national television on SCA). dia monopolies and established He said the number of Cu- another 2,000 Cubans are Wednesday that the govern- But Sabbatella showed up for AFSCA to grant and regulate bans stuck in the isolated crossing the country (Pan- ment was working to reopen work anyway, insisting he could broadcast licences. town, prevented from trav- ama) to get to Paso Canoas.” the region’s borders to the not be removed before the end But Argentina’s largest media elling on to Costa Rica, had He said 12 Cubans have Cubans to permit them to of his term in 2017 under a con- group, Clarin, condemns it as swollen to 602 by Thursday. been taken to hospital with pass. troversial Kirchner-era media an attack on the free press and All of them aim to get to the critical health problems, The number of Cubans law. private property - a viewpoint US, which has a decades-old some of them with diabetes, trying to flee their island for “If this government doesn’t Macri’s party shares. policy of accepting them if kidney failure or high blood a new life in the US jumped like the law, it has to go to Con- Clarin, whose newspapers they set foot on its soil. pressure. Others were treat- this year. Many fear that gress and change it or repeal it. and cable channels are sharply But another 5,000 to 7,000 ed for injuries from blows a thaw in US-Cuban rela- It can’t do it by decree. The law critical of Kirchner, has chal- Cuban refugees are already they said they received in the tions announced a year ago Chef Juan Carlos Lopez and his students decorate an eleven- must be obeyed,” Sabbatella, lenged the law in court. It has blocked on the next border, first stage of their journey, will end the American policy metre long cookie made with Peruvian ingredients at an event who has fi led a court challenge so far successfully resisted between Costa Rica and Nic- through Ecuador and Co- of automatically accepting in Ate, Peru. against his ouster, told journal- having its media empire dis- aragua. lombia, to Panama. them as refugees. ists outside AFSCA’s offi ces. mantled. Gulf Times Saturday, December 26, 2015 15 PAKISTAN/AFGHANISTAN

24 killed Pakistan army as bus falls into chief to visit ravine AFP Kabul Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, second left, and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani pose for a photograph as they prepare to open the newly-build parliament complex in Kabul yesterday. t least 24 people were killed when a passenger Kabul in push Abus plunged into a ravine after a head-on collision with a truck in northern Afghanistan, Indian PM opens new offi cials said yesterday, in the latest deadly road accident. Women and children were among those killed in the ac- to peace talks cident on Thursday on a major Afghan parliament highway in Samangan province. AFP ence, Ghani and Pakistani der management were likely to “The crash happened when the Islamabad Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif be discussed during talks be- bus carrying more than 50 passengers vowed commitment to the tween General Sharif, not re- DPA was travelling from Kabul to Mazar- peace process, with the United lated to Premier Sharif, and top Kabul i-Sharif,” said Sarajuddin Fitrat, the akistan’s army chief States and China also off ering Afghan leaders. governor of Hazrat Sultan district General Raheel Sharif support. Haqqani network comes where the accident occurred. Pwill visit Kabul tomor- under the umbrella of the Tali- ndian Prime Minister “Twenty four people were row to hold talks with top Af- “The visit by the army ban and has been described Narendra Modi inaugurated killed and 17 others were injured.” ghan civil and military leaders, chief to Kabul is a follow by US offi cials in the past as a Ithe new Afghan parliament The defence ministry in Ka- the military said yesterday. up of commitments “veritable arm” of Pakistani building in Kabul yesterday. bul gave a much higher death toll Afghanistan sees Pakistan’s made by Prime Minister intelligence. The building was construct- of 43. support as vital to resuming Nawaz Sharif and Some in Washington believe ed by India in the western part The injured were rushed to a stalled peace dialogue with Afghan President Ashraf Pakistan has not done enough of Kabul, at a cost of $90mn. hospital while police and a rescue the Taliban and recently both Ghani towards Afghan to bring its infl uence to bear During the opening ceremony, team retrieved the bodies. countries have expressed re- peace at the Heart of and to persuade the group to Modi in a speech urged regional Afghanistan has some of solve to work together in this Asia conference in renounce violence. countries to help bring stability the world’s most dangerous regard. Islamabad” During Nawaz Sharif’s trip and security to Afghanistan. roads and deadly accidents are “COAS (Chief of Army Staff ) to the US in October President “We know that Afghanistan’s Guards stand outside Afghanistan’s new parliament building common. will visit Kabul on Sunday, “The visit by the army chief Barack Obama stressed that success will require the cooper- before the inauguration in Kabul yesterday. At least 18 people were killed December 27,” Pakistan army to Kabul is a follow up of com- Pakistan needed to take action ation and support of each of its in May when a minivan over- spokesman Lieutenant General mitments made by Prime against groups that undermine neighbours,” Modi said. no longer fl ows across the bor- oed Modi’s remarks, saying: turned in the western province of Asim Bajwa said on Twitter. Minister Nawaz Sharif and Af- peaceful dialogue. He warned of the rise of der; when the sanctuaries of “We want an end to the export Badghis. “(Sharif) will hold meet- ghan President Ashraf Ghani Pakistan, which wields con- “new clouds of extremism” in terrorism are shut.” of terrorists into Afghanistan.” And in April 2013 a bus hit a ings with political and military towards Afghan peace at the siderable infl uence over the the region and said that Af- Afghanistan has accused Pa- India previously delivered wrecked fuel tanker in the south- leadership of Afghanistan,” Heart of Asia conference in Is- Taliban, hosted a milestone ghans are not only fi ghting for kistan of not doing enough to three attack helicopters to the ern province of Kandahar, killing Bajwa said. lamabad,” said security analyst fi rst round of peace nego- their own survival but are also stem the fl ow Taliban militants Afghan government in a step 45 people. Afghanistan President Ashraf Imtiaz Gul. tiations in July. But the talks standing up for the rest of the across the border to launch at- up for the Indian government’s The World Bank in November Ghani travelled to Pakistan this Gul said that the resump- stalled when the Taliban be- world’s security. tacks on Afghan soil. help for Afghan security forces. signed off a $250mn grant to up- month to open a conference tion of dialogue with the Tali- latedly confi rmed the death of Although he did not men- Modi later announced that he The helicopters were to grade roads crossing Afghanistan’s that shored up international ban, action against Haqqani longtime leader Mullah Omar, tion Pakistan by name, Modi would be making a stopover in be offi cially handed over to Hindu Kush mountains, crucial support for Taliban talks. network and other militant sparking a power struggle warned that “Afghanistan will Pakistan on the way back to India. the Afghan government later trade links that are often closed in At the Islamabad confer- groups, as well as peaceful bor- within the movement. succeed only when terrorism President Ashraf Ghani ech- yesterday, Ghani said. winter by snow.

Data of dual citizens being Jinnah’s birth anniversary shared with US Activists: ‘war on Pakistan and the United States are sharing information on income tax and bank accounts of Pakistani citizens who have dual nationality. According to diplomatic sources, terror’ failing in fi ght the information is exchanged under the US Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act (Fatca). The act off ers two models, known as inter- governmental agreement 1 and 2. against extremism The first model requires a foreign financial institution to share related information with its own AFP fewest casualties linked to as blasphemy merely masks governmental agencies, which then Islamabad extremist attacks since 2007 simmering intolerance that report it to the US Internal Revenue - the year Aziz led his brief can still boil over into mob Service (IRS). insurrection in the capital, violence. The second version requires a orshippers at the in- which later became the cata- Activists have noted some participating foreign financial famous Red Mosque lyst for the formation of the improvement, particularly institution to report information Win the Pakistani umbrella Pakistani Taliban after the Supreme Court ob- directly to the IRS. Under this capital Islamabad still gather movement. served in October that call- arrangement, an FFI needs to in their hundreds for Friday “The country was devoid ing for reform to controver- register directly with the IRS. prayers, but the fi ery sermons of any road map for fi ghting sial blasphemy legislation is Pakistan has signed the second calling for Sharia law led by these extremist forces, but now not equivalent to committing model and under this arrangement hardline cleric Maulana Ab- I think they have found their blasphemy. 36 Pakistani banks and financial dul Aziz are now a thing of the way,” said security analyst Im- But violence against those institutions have been registered past. tiaz Gul. accused of blasphemy con- with the IRS as participating The preacher, who once According to Nasir, however, tinues unabated, with hard- institutions. led a week-long armed con- a military operation against liners inciting attacks that The agreement requires all these fl ict against Pakistan’s army extremists and government often target minorities. In institutions to share with the IRS and has repeatedly called for crackdown in the wake of the November, hundreds of peo- whatever information they may have the overthrow of the govern- massacre have simply diverted ple torched a factory after about those US citizens who have ment, has now been muzzled attention from what lies be- one of its workers from the bank accounts in Pakistan. by authorities — though tech- neath. minority Ahmadi sect was The IRS describes Fatca, enacted in Pakistan army cadets take part in a guard of honour during an event to mark the birth anniversary nically he remains a free man accused of burning pages of 2010, as an important tool to combat of Pakistan’s founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah in Karachi yesterday. Pakistan marks Jinnah’s birthday and a revered fi gure among the “The country was the Qur’an. tax evasion by US persons having annually with a parade and service at his mausoleum in Karachi. Taliban. devoid of any road Meanwhile new forms of ex- investments in off shore accounts. It is this duality — where map for fi ghting these tremism continue to emerge. hardened resolve against extremist forces, but In April social activist groups such as the Tali- now I think they have Sabeen Mahmud was gunned ban is blunted by a willing- found their way” down outside the cafe she op- ness to tolerate and even erated in Karachi, which hosted fan the fl ames of extremism “The main thing is extrem- discussions on topics from still bubbling beneath soci- ism — textbook reforms, ma- feminism to the role of minori- Pakistan seeks to renegotiate ety’s surface — that activists drassa reforms, mass aware- ties in society. say sums up the country’s ness community reform That killing was blamed by more than decade-long bat- cutting down the infl uence of authorities on college-edu- tle against a homegrown the clergy in the society,” he cated Saad Aziz, also said to Islamist insurgency. said. be the mastermind of an at- cost of key LNG pipeline Offi cial and public opinion “What we’re doing now is tack on an Ismaili Shia bus was galvanised against the Pa- stifl ing the growth of the can- that left 44 dead, highlight- kistani Taliban in the wake of cer but we’re not addressing ing the fresh threat posed by Internews The price of steel, which connected to the Iranian border interested in pushing ahead with a massacre at a school in the the reason why we keep on self-radicalised “lone wolf” Islamabad stood at $1,300 per tonne when at a cost of $200mn after sanc- the IP project. northwestern city of Pesha- getting cancer.” extremists who are motivated the engineering consultant ILF tions against Tehran were lifted. China Petroleum Pipeline war in December 2014 that left For authorities, the dou- more by global jihadism than gave the cost estimate, has come State-owned distribution com- Bureau, selected by the Chi- more than 150 dead — mainly blethink is strategic, with local causes. he Pakistan government down to $900-$1,000 per tonne. panies Sui Northern Gas Pipelines nese government to lay the LNG children. activists such as prominent The “Reclaim Pakistan” has constituted a price The consultant put the total cost Limited (SNGPL) and Sui South- pipeline and set up the terminal, It was at the dun-coloured feminist Marvi Sirmed accus- movement fl ared again after Tnegotiation committee of the pipeline and terminal at ern Gas Company (SSGC) will also had submitted the technical and mosque at the centre of Pa- ing Islamabad of a kind of re- Mahmud’s death, though it has in an attempt to seek a further around $2.5bn because of the fall get a share in pipeline construc- fi nancial bid for evaluation. kistan’s leafy capital that alpolitik over who it chooses largely shifted from the streets reduction in the cost estimated in steel and compressor prices. tion as the Chinese company, The company is already work- Muhammad Jibran Nasir, a to crack down on — such as to the blogosphere. by a Chinese company for laying “However, the Chinese com- China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau, ing on pipeline projects stretch- 28-year-old lawyer, organised clerics who preach against the Opposition Senator Sherry the key Gwadar liquefi ed natural pany has off ered to develop the is bound to award 30 per cent of ing over 8,000 km in diff erent a demonstration in the wake of army. Rehman, who led the legis- gas (LNG) pipeline and setting project at a cost standing below work to them. countries including Myanmar, Aziz’s refusal to condemn the Meanwhile Kabul blames lative charge for blasphemy up a terminal. $2 billion in the fi nancial bid “This is a signifi cant devel- Bangladesh, Russia and other attack. Pakistan’s historical sup- reform under the last govern- Offi cial sources say this opened by Interstate Gas Sys- opment that shows Pakistan is nations. It has also laid pipelines That protest, which called port for the Afghan Tali- ment and has lived under con- project will work as an alterna- tems (ISGS),” a senior govern- serious about kicking off work from Turkmenistan to China. for the cleric’s arrest for in- ban prolonging much of stant death threats since, says tive to the Iran-Pakistan (IP) ment offi cial said, adding a price on the IP pipeline, but its im- “This is the fi rst project under citing hate speech, snow- the confl ict wracking their Pakistan has the will but needs gas pipeline project and will be negotiation committee had been plementation hinges on lifting the China-Pakistan Economic balled into a nationwide country, and tensions drag to refi ne the way. executed by the government in set up to negotiate a further re- of global sanctions against Iran,” Corridor for which the techni- movement among marginal- on with India over disputed “We’ve come up to speed on co-operation with the Chinese duction in the cost. ISGS Managing Director Mobin cal and fi nancial bids have been ised urban liberals who ral- Kashmir and Islamabad’s the resolve, fi nally,” she said. fi rm on a government-to-gov- “The bid was much lower than Saulat told The Express Tribune. opened,” another offi cial said. lied to “Reclaim Pakistan” support for proxy groups “But we have to really think ernment basis. expected,” the offi cial said. Ear- ISGS is working to develop gas The Chinese government would from the clutches of Islamist there. of this over the next 10 years — Under the plan, the LNG pipe- lier, ISGS had expected the cost import projects. provide a cheap loan covering 85 violence. But for the Pakistani public, how we can dovetail this with line will be laid from Gwadar to of 700km of LNG pipeline from Initiating the bidding proc- per cent of the project cost and One year on and an army- a Supreme Court-led shift to- the fi ght against extremism? Nawabshah and the terminal will Gwadar to Nawabshah at $2.5bn. ess for the Gwadar pipeline in- the Pakistani government would led crackdown has put the wards a seemingly more mod- “This cannot just be a fi ght be set up at Gwadar port. He said the pipeline would be dicated that Pakistan was truly contribute 15% of funds. country on course to see the erate stance on issues such against terrorism.” Gulf Times 16 Saturday, December 26, 2015 PHILIPPINES Death toll from rebel attacks rises to 13 Agencies Army retaliated by fi ring rocket “They were all civilians, Cotabato City rifl e grenades, forcing the ban- they were not armed,” Demo dits to fl ee. Nobody was hurt. stressed. Instead of celebrating Christ- Earlier, Abu Misry Mama, he death toll in attacks mas in their respective detach- speaking for the BIFF, admitted carried out by outlawed ments, soldiers of the 33rdIn- to the atrocities but stressed TBangsamoro Islamic Free- fantry Battalion spent their they were only after para-mil- dom Fighters (BIFF) on Christ- Christmas Eve in the battle- itary and soldiers in the areas mas Eve rose to 13 — nine civil- fi eld in the mountains of Ab- where they carried out the at- ians and four rebels — offi cials dullah Sangki and Ampatuan, tacks. said yesterday. Maguindanao. “We target the armed CAF- After killing seven civilians Soldiers and policemen ad- GU and soldiers; we spare ci- in the borders of Maguindanao mitted they had to hurdle threats vilians,” Mama said. When told and Sultan Kudarat provinces of booby traps left by BIFF in and there were civilian casualties, A resident carries his daughter as he wades through a flooded street in Calumpit Bulacan. on Thursday dawn, the BIFF at- around the areas where fi ve ci- Mama said, they were among tacked a Catholic chapel in Pig- vilian farmers were killed. those considered as “collateral cawayan, North Cotabato and Lt Colonel Ricky Bunayog, damage.” gunned down a village council- 33rd Infantry Battalion com- Salome Alsgar, wife of Gerard man at about 9pm, Philippine mander, said another farmer Alsgar who was killed by at- Daily Inquirer reported. was found dead in the village of tackers in the village of Paitan, said the BIFF assured her hus- Santa absent this year in Another dead farmer Paitan, Datu Abdulla Sangki, was found in the borders of Maguindanao on Christmas Day band will not be harmed. Maguindanao and Sultan or about 10 hours after the BIFF Alsgar and his son were taken Kudarat. launched the off ensive. hostage by the BIFF and used as Led by BIFF Commander “One of their fi eld command- “human shields.” ers was killed that is why they “They do not want us to typhoon-hit Philippines Abonawas Alamada, the armed men attacked the house of Rob- were so brutal on civilians,” Bu- leave, nine of us, my husband ert Latosa, village councilman nayog said. and four other farmers and my AFP Christmas tree to open gifts and robed fi gures brought little Nearby, two dogs stood on of Barangay Simsiman, Pigca- “We have recovered four im- five-year-old son,” she said. San Jose eat a traditional meal of meat, charm to the dark, tin-roofed the roof of a neighbour’s house wayan, North Cotabato by fi ring provised bombs in the area. Rel- “The soldiers are running af- cheese and sweets, hundreds of house with bare walls, which to escape the water, as small rocket propelled grenades, kill- atives of the slain farmers said ter us, if they stop, you can go,” people in San Jose stood in fl ood has been without power for 10 wooden and fi breglass boats — ing him on the spot. those who went to spray chemi- she quoted the BIFF as telling ading through knee- waters with their own wash ba- days after authorities cut elec- now the main mode of trans- Two BIFF groups also simul- cals in the farmlands in Baran- her. deep fl oods, 12-year- sins to wait for food aid at the tricity to avoid electrocution port in San Jose — fl oated along, taneously attacked a 38th Infan- gay Kauran were hired farmers She and her son then were Wold Joana Yambao Catholic church. accidents. chauff eured by fi shermen who try Battalion detachment by fi r- who wanted to earn money for set free and allowed to walk pushes her infant sister in a Residents of the village, Samblijay, a 63-year-old now charge a fee to ferry people ing rifl e grenades and a Catholic the “Noche Buena.” They would for about five minutes then she black wash basin along the home to about 5,000 people, mother of three grown chil- around. chapel where a midnight Mass have been paid after the job to heard a series of gun burst. surface of the fi lthy water in a have seen seasonal fl ooding be- dren who was born in San Jose, On the swollen Pampan- was ongoing, sending Mass goers ensure they have money to buy “They killed my husband and typhoon-hit Philippine village fore, but elderly villagers said it said her family would not visit ga river near the town, Al- scampering for safety. Nobody dinner for Christmas Eve,” he his companions,” she said. where residents have little to was the fi rst time they had seen her for what would have been lan Gonzales escorted a boat was hurt in the chapel attack. said. Bunayog said the number of celebrate this Christmas. it during Christmas. a traditional holiday reunion. with a white coffi n bearing the The attacks were over in fi ve “Now they are all gone, and we BIFF was “surprisingly big” Under sunny skies, their Other towns in the vast, rice- They could have travelled the remains of his 99-year-old minutes, civilians in Barangay celebrate Christmas here at the with about 300 men attacking mother sweeps mud from the growing central Luzon plains 42 kilometres from Manila by grandfather who died in hospi- Simsiman said. funeral parlour,” Reme Demo, a a remote village and “hitting fl oor of her grocery shop in San near Manila also remain sub- boat, but it was deemed unsafe tal days earlier. Almost at the same time, an- relative told reporters in Espe- anyone seen in their escape Jose, one of scores of villages merged and the government for her young grandchildren. “It’s diffi cult. It was night other band of BIFF harassed a ranza, Sultan Kudarat. He said route.” and towns still submerged and says 206,000 people are still “It will be a sad Christmas time when he had a heart attack detachment of second Mecha- the fatalities were all farmers Four BIFF dead bodies and struggling to recover after be- either stuck in fl oods or de- without my seven grandchil- and we also had to use a boat nized Infantry Battalion in and not CAFGU (Civilian Armed four firearms were recovered ing battered this month by Ty- pendent on government food dren,” said Samblijay, who has to take him to hospital,” the Barangay Dapiawan, Datu Saudi Forces Geographical Unit) as by soldiers during clearing phoon Melor. rations, or both. had to cook on the rooftop to 34-year-old fi sherman said- Ampatuan in Maguindanao. The claimed by the BIFF. operations. The storm killed 45 people There were few signs of feed her bedridden husband, a from his own fi breglass boat. and left thousands without Christmas cheer in San Jose. former carpenter who recently Despite the difficulties, food, water or urgent medical At Amelia Samblijay’s house, suff ered a stroke. Gonzales said, the village was care. six plastic Santa statues hung “They would not like it here lucky that no one died as a re- “We’re just taking in the from the rafters, suspended anyway without electricity,” sult of the typhoon, voicing sights. I doubt Santa Claus will above murky brown fl ood wa- she added, speaking near her hope that the waters would come tonight. The water’s too ters littered by old shoes, plas- husband, whose oxygen tank soon recede to allow him and Man dies, several hurt high,” Yambao said. tic bottles and a dead rat. sat submerged in water in the his family of seven to enjoy a Instead of gathering by the But the white-bearded, red- fl ooded basement. traditional Christmas meal, normally eaten at midnight. “Anything is possible with in separate incidents God,” he said. On Christmas Eve, some 80,000 people were stuck Agencies day-old infant who suff ered a fi rst-degree burn on at evacuation centres after Cebu City the face after being hit by splinters of fi recrackers. fleeing the advancing floods, A 41-year-old man, who was drunk, also suff ered according to the National burns in the hand where a whistle bomb exploded. Disaster Risk Reduction and ine persons, including a month-old baby, Of the nine victims, four were from Cebu City, Management Council. were hurt by fi recracker blasts during the two each from the cities of Mandaue and Talisay In San Jose, residents NChristmas Eve revelry in Central Visayas. and one from Amlan. There was no reported victim flocked to traditional pre- In Cebu province, one person was killed while of indiscriminate fi ring. dawn church masses in the nine were brought injured to the hospital after they Supt. Romeo Santander, Cebu City intelligence days leading up to Christmas, fi gured in a vehicular accident while heading to chief, said the Christmas celebration was peaceful with some seeking refuge in church to attend the traditional Misa de Aguinaldo, in the capital city. their parishes as waters re- Philippine Daily Inquirer reported. In Cebu province, at least 10 persons were hurt fused to subside at home. According to Rennan Cimafranca of the regional after they fi gured in a vehicular accident on Christ- “My house is half-sub- epidemiology surveillance unit of Department of mas Eve. merged until now. I realised Health in Central Visayas, most of the victims suf- Most of the victims were on board separate mo- it’s easier to sleep here,” said fered minor burns and were not confi ned to hospi- torcycles and were heading to church to attend the Solita Nebre, 53, who has slept tals. Christmas Eve Mass. on a cardboard box at San Jose Except for a three-year-old girl who was ac- According to the Emergency Rescue Unit Foun- church for three nights to wait cidentally hit by a fi recracker on Dec 23 in Amlan dation, one of the victims died at the South General out the deluge. town, Negros Oriental, the rest of the incidents Hospital in Naga City, Cebu. “God is merciful. He did happened between Thursday night and Friday The victim was driving a motorcycle on their way not punish us,” she said. “He dawn during the revelry to welcome Christmas. to Talisay City from Barili town when the vehicle merely sent down the floods One of the victims was a one-month-and-9- crashed in Naga City. Residents queue up in flood waters to receive relief goods in Calumpit Bulacan, north of Manila. to test our faith.” Poe camp says disqualifi cation timing ‘suspicious’

By Llanesca Panti was done in haste and timed ing that the lawmaker misled the the timeline given to them. Escudero said Poe has been persecutor and a bully. Manila Times during the holidays. Their in- nation by claiming that she is a “We will not let them get away honest, candid, forthright and “They acted with dispatch tentions are to undermine our natural-born Filipino. with it. We will fi le our plead- open with respect to her citizen- on her disqualifi cation case next move by blunting the legal The Comelec en banc dis- ings,” he added. ship, nationality and residency. even before the candidate who he camp of Sen. Grace Poe response of Senator Poe, put us qualifi ed Poe because she is not Poe, a foundling, has been “She has answered every claimed his name was ‘Lucifer’,” has slammed the Com- in a tight spot, remove her from a natural-born Filipino, a re- dislodged from the top spot in question with candour and hon- he said. Tmission on Elections the ballot and disenfranchise quirement for those running for the December Pulse Asia survey, esty both before the Comelec “They refused to consolidate (Comelec) for the manner by her supporters,” Valenzuela President. landing on the third spot for the and before the Filipino people. the four cases, which are all the which it is trying to ease her out City (Metro Manila) Mayor Rex The commission gave Poe fi ve fi rst time. How dare they say that she ‘de- same except for the names of of the presidential derby, say- Gatchalian, Poe’s spokesman, days to seek a relief from the The senator has maintained liberately attempted to mislead the petitioners, if only to require ing it rejected her defence and, said. High Court either by securing a that though a foundling, she is the electorate,’” the senator Sen. Poe to answer/appear in the worse, handed down an adverse “They are out to damage our temporary restraining order that natural-born. fumed. two divisions of the Comelec and ruling during the holidays when democracy and electoral proc- would halt implementation of Escudero took up the fi ght He added that it is the Come- be disqualifi ed, not only once the Supreme Court is in recess. ess,” Gatchalian added. the Comelec decision. for Poe on Thursday, blasting lec that is misleading the elec- but twice, and a third time by “Clearly, the timing of the Senator Francis “Chiz” Escu- Gatchalian said Poe’s team is the Comelec for saying that Poe torate for pretending to be an the en banc following what ap- promulgation of the decision is dero, Poe’s running mate, called determined to fi ght the “machi- “deliberately attempted to mis- independent body when it had pears to be a well written script Grace Poe suspect. The decision’s release the Comelec a bully for claim- nations” of the poll body with lead the electorate.” been acting as Poe’s inquisitor, or play,” Escudero added. Gulf Times Saturday, December 26, 2015 17 SRI LANKA/BANGLADESH/NEPAL One dead in Bangladesh mosque bomb attack Suspected suicide bomber Muslim Jamaat mosque at Bag- during the prayers. One of the hardliners as heretical - have media put the toll much higher. dies in the attack on an mara, some 250kms (150 miles) two unknown people died. It also been attacked and killed, Police blame the JMB for the Ahmadiya Muslim Jamaat from the capital, Dhaka, was appears that he was a suicide and two Christian priests have recent violence while Prime mosque during Friday packed with worshippers during bomber,” Choudhury said. survived attacks claimed by Minister Sheikh Hasina’s gov- prayers in Bagmara town Friday prayers. He added that four Ahmadi Islamist militants. ernment accuses the main op- “One person died on the spot Muslims were injured including Bangladesh has been roiled by position party and its Islamist AFP and three other people were in- one whose condition is serious. rising unrest which has seen four ally of trying to trigger anarchy. Dhaka jured. It seems he was carrying No group has claimed respon- atheist bloggers and a publisher The parties deny the claims. the bomb and it looks like it was sibility, but in recent months, hacked to death this year. Analysts say Islamist mili- a suspected suicide blast,” local homegrown outlawed militant Two foreigners have also been tants pose a growing danger in bomb exploded yesterday police chief Motiar Rahman said. group, Jamayetul Mujahideen shot dead—a Japanese farmer conservative Bangladesh and at a mosque of the minor- Ahmad Tabshir Choudhury, Bangladesh (JMB), and Islamic and an Italian aid worker—while that a long-running political Maithripala Sirisena Aity Ahmadi Muslim group a spokesman of the Ahmadiya State group claimed responsi- several priests were threatened crisis has radicalised opponents in Bangladesh’s northwestern Muslim Jamaat in Bangladesh, bility for bomb attacks on a top and two policemen hacked to of the government. town of Bagmara leaving the said there were two unknown Shia shrine and a Shia mosque in death Ahmadis are a tiny Muslim suspected suicide bomber dead people who came to the mosque northern Bangladesh. Last week two bombs ex- group in Bangladesh. In the and three other people injured, where nearly 100 people includ- Members of other minority ploded at a mosque inside a past, its members have been Lanka president police said. ing women joined the Friday groups, including Sufi s — who navy base in Bangladesh’s attacked by hardline Islamists Police said the bomb blast oc- prayers adhere to a mystical form of Is- port city of Chittagong, injur- and often barred from setting curred when the small Ahmadiya “The bomb was detonated lam deemed by some Islamist ing at least six people. Local up mosques. seeks support Male nurse held for sexual abuse Raid on militant hideout of patient of Muslims for Bangladesh’s Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has arrested reconciliation a male nurse of a top hospital from airport railway station in connection with the sexual Agencies “I wish to point out that the harassment of a female patient. Colombo Medina Charter shows that Is- Tipped off , a team of RAB lam rejects the use of compul- conducted a drive at the railway sion and force in religion and, station and picked up the ri Lankan President has been demonstrated over accused, said sources in RAB. Maithripala Sirisena centuries of human existence, According to reports, the female Shas sought the support that the most eff ective way patient was admitted in the of minority Muslim commu- to resolve confl icts is through intensive care unit (ICU) of the nity in his government’s ef- mediation. It guaranteed the hospital after an operation. When forts for reconciliation with safety and welfare of all the she regained her senses she ethnic Tamils following the communities and promoted found male nurse Saiful Islam three-decade civil war with reconciliation with all the abusing her sexually. The incident the LTTE, a media report communities,” he said. took place on November 30. said. The Rajapakse regime was The patient’s husband alleged “I trust those who fol- accused of backing the ex- that he was allowed to meet his low the teachings of Prophet tremist nationalist group wife after 16 hours of the incident. Muhammad in Sri Lanka can Bodu Bala Sena who whipped The hospital authorities sacked make a signifi cant contribu- up anti-Muslim feelings Saiful but did not hand him over tion to building a nation rich among the majority Sinhalese. to police despite her husband’s in tolerance, understanding Sirisena is to embark on a request, said the report. and reconciliation, which will new constitution formulation On December 3, the High Court strengthen the eff orts to take process early next month in (HC) directed police to arrest the country on the forward his bid to achieve national rec- the accused and produce him march to progress,” he said in onciliation by addressing mi- before the court on December 7. a message to mark Milad-un- nority concerns among other However, police failed to comply Nabi, the birthday of Prophet issues. with the HC order. Muhammad. The government is set to On December 7, Gulshan police Sirisena had received wide move a resolution in parlia- told the High Court that they had support from the 7% Mus- ment on January 9 to convert launched a drive but could not Police and criminal investigation department investigators inspect an area during a raid in Dhaka. Bangladeshi law enforcers on lim minority in his landslide the House into a constitution- find the accused. Later, the HC Thursday conducted a raid on a hideout of banned Islamist outfit Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and arrested seven victory against Mahinda Ra- al assembly which will initiate asked police to submit a report on suspected militants with huge explosives and grenades. japakse in the presidential the process of drafting the new January 6 in this regard. elections in January this year. constitution.

Mobile phone subscribers touch 132mn Severe cold kills 12 Nepal seeks China’s The total number of Bangladesh’s mobile phone subscribers reached nearly 132mn at the end of October with addition of 11.65mn new users in the first 10 in Nepalese capital help on fuel crisis months of the year, statistics of the country’s telecom regulator showed yesterday. DPA that at least seven earthquake Sindupalchowk, the epi- Reuters New Delhi for siding with overland supplies follow- According to Bangladesh Kathmandu victims had died due to the cold centre of the 7.8-magnitude Beijing the protesters, a charge India ing earthquakes this year that Telecommunication Regulatory in the past three weeks in Sin- earthquake that struck on April denies. killed nearly 9,000 people and Commission (BTRC), the number dupalchok district, where they 25, was among the worst-hit Speaking in Beijing after blocked crossings from China. of subscribers in the country t least 12 people were re- were living in shelters made of districts in Nepal. epal’s foreign minister meeting Chinese Foreign Min- China reopened a border reached 131.996mn in October, ported dead in the Nepa- tin sheets and tarpaulins. The government has said it asked China yester- ister Wang Yi, Nepali Deputy crossing with Nepal in October Xinhua reported. Alese capital Kathmandu The Sindhupalchowk district will distribute 10,000 rupees Nday for help in dealing Prime Minister and Foreign and said it was using it to send The number of subscribers over the past week due to severe offi ce said that at least seven ($100) to each family aff ected with an energy crisis that crip- Minister Kamal Thapa said he in the supplies. of the six mobile operators, cold, a news report quoted po- earthquake victims have died by the earthquake to buy winter pled the landlocked country had asked China to consider Old rivals India and China Grameenphone, Banglalink, Robi lice as saying yesterday. due to the cold in the past three clothes. over the past three months and the long-term trade in petro- have used aid and investment Axiata, Airtel, Teletalk and Citycell The 12 - mostly homeless weeks in diff erent villages in However, many of the thou- China said it would look at the leum products. to court Nepal for years. at the end of September stood at people but also including one the district. sands of victims have not re- request favourably. “I’m very happy to note the “For Nepal, there is no need 55.896mn, 32.599mn, 28.288mn, person moved to a temporary Many others in Sindhupal- ceived the money, while oth- The Himalayan nation, government of China has in- to play each other. We have our 9.982mn, 4.141mn and 1.089mn shelter after a major earth- chowk in central Nepal have fall- ers say they had to spend the which serves as a natural buff - structed the concerned petro- own type of relations with India. respectively, the BTRC data quake in April - died due to en ill in their shelters, which are money on food. er between China and India, leum export authority to be in Similarly, we have our special showed. hypothermia, according to the made of tin sheets and tarpaulins, At least 8,600 people were adopted its fi rst post-monar- touch and discuss issues relat- relations with China. So, I think The total number of Bangladesh’s Kathmandu Post daily. as temperatures plummeted in the killed in two major earthquakes chy constitution in Septem- ed with the long-term trade of we are very happy with that and mobile phone subscribers Temperatures have dipped to region, with Kathmandu record- in Nepal in April and May and ber hoping this would usher in petroleum products with Ne- will continue in future with that, reached nearly 120.350mn at the zero degrees Celcius in the city ing a low of zero degrees Celsius thousands were displaced af- peace and stability after years pal,” he told reporters. strengthening relations with end of December 2014, showed in the past week. on Thursday, while in the hills the ter more than 600,000 houses of confl ict. Wang, standing next to both countries,” Thapa said. the BTRC data. Authorities said on Thursday temperatures fell below zero. collapsed. But for the last three months, Thapa, said China was willing to Wang said Nepal could be- protesters have blocked trucks look at ways with Nepal to help come a place for win-win co- coming in from India, leading resolve its energy problems. operation between China and to acute shortages of fuel and Nepal had been almost to- India, rather than “a sports Bangladesh signs $12.65bn medicine. Nepal has blamed tally dependent on India for fi eld for competitive games”. deal with Russia for N-Plants

Reuters (100 miles) from Dhaka, said of science and technology that has a lifespan of 60 Dhaka Kamrul Islam Bhyian, spokes- said. years with an option of man for the ministry of science Bangladesh will clear the to- extending it for 20 years. and technology. tal loan within 28 years with a The reactor contains im- angladesh’s state- 10-year grace period. proved safety features, and run Atomic Energy The fi rst nuclear power Bangladesh Finance Minister its passive safety system can BCommission signed plant is expected to Abul Maal Abdul Muhith said it work for 72 hours in any criti- a deal with Russia yester- begin operating by would be the country’s biggest cal or emergency situation, it day to set up two nuclear 2022 and the second by power project. said. power plants, each with 2023 The fi rst nuclear power Rosatom will maintain the 1,200 megawatt capac- plant is expected to begin plant for the fi rst year of its ity, an investment totalling “Russia will fi nance up to operating by 2022 and the commercial operation before $12.65bn, a government 90 percent of the total cost second by 2023. handing over to the Bangla- offi cial said. as credit with an interest rate The ministry offi cial desh authorities, and will bear Work will begin early next year of Libour plus 1.75%,” the said the plant would use fuel costs for the fi rst year of Nepal’s deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Kamal Thapa and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi at Ruppur in Iswardi, 160km spokesman for the ministry a new generation reactor operation. during a bilateral meeting in Beijing yesterday. Gulf Times 18 Saturday, December 26, 2015 COMMENT

Chairman: Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Attiyah Editor-in-Chief : Darwish S Ahmed Production Editor: C P Ravindran Buhari faces multiple

P.O.Box 2888 Doha, Qatar challenges in Nigeria [email protected] Telephone 44350478 (news), Nigeria is battling an with rampant suicide bombings; the rupt economic system. geria’s external reserves are dwindling 44466404 (sport), 44466636 (home delivery) ongoing terrorist threat, economy is sluggish due to a low oil “It took President Buhari several while the market for the oil we are Fax 44350474 price, leaving little funds for fi ghting months to name a cabinet after he producing is shrinking,” he said. the knock-on eff ects of terrorism. came to offi ce but when he did, he The only survival option for the The country, Africa’s largest in appointed people with strong anti- government, says Gbenro, is to gener- meagre oil prices and a terms of Gross Domestic Product, corruption credentials to run the ate money from outside the oil sector. corrupt economic system as relies on oil for around 90% of its main entities that generate revenue,” Along with economic challenges, foreign exchange earnings and 75% of Liewerscheidt says. attacks by Boko Haram in the north it enters the new year. But its budget. He names the introduction of a sin- have left Buhari’s government with a GULF TIMES will President Muhammadu But the price of crude oil has plum- gle federation account as an example major and costly clean-up task. meted this year from over around $100 of Buhari’s bid to tackle backhand The group, which was pushed out Buhari, elected on the to $37 a barrel, depleting the govern- dealings. All government revenue is of much of the territory it conquered premise of tackling these ment’s revenue. paid into this account, he says. in northern Nigeria before Buhari issues, fi nd the time and Nigeria has few long-term contracts “It’s not highly visible for public, came to power, has impoverished Delhi residents with countries, with much of its oil but it is crucial if you want to reform the region by displacing tens of money to do so? sold on the spot. As sanctions on Iran Nigeria.” thousands of people and destroying are lifted and as the US increases its Buhari has recognised that Nigeria infrastructure. By Stuart Graham and Sam Olukoya oil production, Nigeria has been fi nd- needs to diversify from oil and an- The new government will have a dif- must back govt’s Lagos/ DPA ing it increasingly diffi cult to sell the nounced gargantuan infrastructure fi cult time in the short term fi nancing product. and social reforms with a 6tn Naira the major programmes that it wants Organised oil theft also costs the budget ($30.06bn) in 2016 - a 30% to roll out as well as reconstructing igerian President Muham- Nigerian government billions of dol- increase on the 2015 budget. the north-east, “where Boko Haram is car ban formula madu Buhari made a range lars each year. The budget, which Nigeria intends very wide and porous,” Gbenro says. of election promises before Meanwhile, fraud, scams and politi- to fund by borrowing around 1.2tn He believes it will be diffi cult for he took offi ce earlier this cal bribery pose massive hurdles for Naira domestically and through the Nigerian Army to police those ter- If there ever was a competition for uniting 20mn citizens N year. the new government. In 2015, the west foreign loans, will pour money into ritories permanently as Boko Haram of India’s national capital, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind In his election campaign, Buhari African country ranked third-worst energy, road and rail infrastructure has taken to using young girls, who are Kejriwal will emerge as a winner without a murmur or said that he would eliminate corrup- for corruption in a global barometer and the agriculture sector. diffi cult to detect as attackers, to deto- dissent. tion and create 3mn jobs a year for his by non-governmental organisation “The government has said it wants nate suicide bombs at crowded places country of 177.5mn people. Transparency International. to revive its agriculture in order to be likes mosques and markets. It’s astonishing the way Delhiites have banded together He has also frequently vowed to Buhari has referred to corruption self-reliant at producing its own rice, It may be some years before Buhari’s to oppose the Aam Aadmi Party government’s odd/even wipe out terrorist militia Boko Haram. as “the greatest form of human rights tomatoes, wheat and maize,” Liewer- plans yield results. Diversifying the formula for private vehicles that aims to restrict road traffi c But more than six months into his violation” and promises to be ruthless scheidt says. economy away from oil, rooting out and address the poor quality of air in the national capital. presidency, Buhari’s bid to overcome in rooting it out. Economic analyst Waidi Gbenro is corruption and knocking the wind out The manner in which the move has been mocked, these major obstacles is appearing Risk analyst Malte Liewerscheidt less convinced that Buhari will be able of Boko Haram is no mean set of tasks. somewhat unrealistic. says the newly-elected leader has been to raise funds to cover the cost of his But if he succeeds, Gbneru says, criticised, arguments advanced and exceptions sought, Not only does Boko Haram con- actively laying the ground work for infrastructure plans. he may put Nigeria on the path to shows the apathy of a typical citizen to the real problem tinue to target the country’s north 2016 by “plugging the leaks” in a cor- “The indicators are very bad. Ni- becoming a major world economy. of the gas chamber the citizens live in. Tens of thousands of Delhi’s citizens - young and old - suff er from bronchial problems caused by inhaling polluted air. The Kejriwal government’s move comes on the back of a series of directives by the Delhi High Court, which took note of the high levels of air pollution, especially suspended particulate matter (SPM) that can put citizens at the same risk level as those engaged in hazardous industries such as asbestos, mica, coal and bauxite mining. To be fair, the Delhi government has also taken other measures such as ordering the closure of two thermal power plants that emit particulate matter above the permissible limits. Signifi cantly, citizens don’t mind investing in costly air purifi ers, yet are averse to participating in a drive to reduce cars on the road and Citizens don’t tackle pollution at its root. mind investing in It is a pity that in this debate about costly air purifi ers, odd-even licence yet are averse to plate being allowed to ply on alternate participating in a days very little is being done to drive to reduce cars educate citizens on the road and about lung health. “We as Indians are tackle pollution at more vulnerable to chest problems. its root Existing pollution levels will aggravate the situation if not checked by imposing tough measures,” a well-known chest surgeon said recently. Delhi has been a frontrunner in promulgating moves such as promoting the use of compressed natural gas (CNG) for its public transport buses and fl eet of over 100,000 auto- rickshaws. But haphazard commercial and residential real estate growth, exponential rise in new cars on the road (180,000 new cars were added in Delhi in 2014-15 to take the total registered cars up to 2.8mn) have blown away the green cover advantage of the city. Taxis too have exacerbated the problem by taking far too long to conform to both Delhi Buhari delivers the 2016 budget at the National Assembly in Abuja on December 22: focus on infrastructure and social reforms. government and high court orders to stop using vehicles that run on diesel. The alarming pollution levels certainly need tough action. It’s a pity that the National Green Tribunal’s decision to ban trucks, older than 10 years, in the city met with such a public outcry that the order rests in suspended animation. Fortunately, the Delhi High Court has refused to entertain Marginalised groups too need humanitarian aid a public suit that sought to stay the government’s decision to restrict the number of private vehicles on roads on the By Toby Porter So it’s with some anxiety that agen- Inclusive humanitarian assistance the summary, it states: “Two-thirds basis of the odd-even number of their licence plates from London/ Guardian News & Media cies like HelpAge International and might cost more, but it’s a right. Not of older refugees described their January 1. Given the seriousness of the situation, it is time our partners in the disability commu- only that, but as Justine Greening, health status as poor or very poor. for all Delhiites to stop expressing doubts and stop whining nity read the preliminary statement the UK’s international development Most reported at least one non-com- ver the past two years, more issued on November 24 by the emer- secretary, reminded us at an event municable disease, with 60% having about the odd-even formula. Similar plans might have failed than 23,000 people have gency relief co-ordinator, Stephen on December 3 to celebrate DfID’s hypertension, 47% reporting diabetes, elsewhere in the world, but there’s no reason why it cannot shared their views on how O’Brien, on behalf of the UN Offi ce for disability framework, in programmes and 30% indicating some form of work - despite the lack of infrastructure - if the residents Ofuture emergency responses the Co-ordination of Humanitarian where services are designed in an in- heart disease. The study concluded unite and carry it forward. should be shaped in the buildup to the Aff airs (OCHA). Gone was any refer- clusive way from the start, the extra older refugees from Syria are a highly If Delhiites have given the mandate to Kejriwal to lead 2016 World Humanitarian Summit in ence to excluded and marginalised cost is negligible. To give a practical vulnerable population needing health Istanbul in May. groups. It felt awfully like the com- example of what she was saying: to surveillance and targeted assistance. the government, it is their responsibility to strengthen his It has been encouraging to see the mitment to leave no one behind was retrofit a badly designed school to Programmes assisting vulnerable hands by making the plan work. If society can stop being same commitment to give global citi- somewhat being … left behind. allow easy access to children with populations may concentrate services so argumentative, Delhi may well be on its way to setting zens and civil society organisations a This matters a lot. On humanitarian disabilities costs a lot; to design a on women and children leaving the benchmarks for the rest of India to help reduce pollution. say in the agenda for the summit as we questions, the world’s older people school from the planning stage with elderly overlooked.” saw in the run-up to the sustainable and those living with disabilities look easy access to all, including children HelpAge International is one of a development goals with the World We to O’Brien, and to OCHA, for leader- with disabilities, costs little or noth- group of international aid agencies Want initiative. ship. Many donors, including the ing extra at all. which have written to the head of To Advertise Those of us working with excluded European Community Humanitarian Mindset is the main barrier to OCHA, expressing concern about his groups, such as older people and Aid Offi ce, the Offi ce of US Foreign inclusive humanitarian assistance, preliminary summit statement. We [email protected] those with disabilities, thought the Disaster Assistance (OFDA) and the not money. Rightly, more global will be reminding O’Brien that the Display message had been heard - we cel- UK’s Department for International humanitarian assistance has gone to World Humanitarian Summit is an Telephone 44466621 Fax 44418811 ebrated the publication of the World Development (DfID), have all brought victims of the Syria confl ict than any early major test of the UN’s com- Humanitarian Summit consultation in important policy commitments other crisis over the past four years. mitment to leave no one behind. We Classified report primarily because it included and guidance notes aimed at ensur- Wrongly, however, the health needs will also remind him that the global Telephone 44466609 Fax 44418811 a commitment we have all waited so ing humanitarian assistance is more of older people have gone almost un- consultations were meant to identify long to hear: “All those involved in sensitive to the needs of marginalised noticed and uncatered for in a massive the “critical issues of concern” of all Subscription humanitarian work should correct the and vulnerable groups. humanitarian response that has cost those at risk, and that this resulted in [email protected] neglect of older people, persons with But if there is no clear global leader- several billion dollars. clear calls to address the neglect of disabilities and other marginalised ship from OCHA on this, how can we A 2015 study, health status and marginalised groups. groups; ensure their specifi c needs are expect quickly to see inclusive services health needs of older refugees from 2014 Gulf Times. All rights reserved met; and enable them to participate in delivered to marginalised groups in Syria in Lebanon, sets out the reality z Toby Porter is chief executive of decision-making.” mainstream humanitarian operations? and consequences of that neglect. In HelpAge International Gulf Times Saturday, December 26, 2015 19 COMMENT Unwanted guest: El Niño and Africa What makes El Nono adversity has been stretched. Now country characterised by some of particularly bad news in they will be facing potentially an even the worst humanitarian and human sterner test. development indicators in the world. 2016 is that it will be a So what does that really mean for Drought has singed the northern second tough year in a row these vulnerable regions in the coming regions of Somaliland and Puntland, year? With the perils of weather while heavy rains in the south and for farmers and pastoralists forecasting acknowledged, here’s a centre of the country have caused in Southern Africa and the snapshot. fl oods that OCHA estimates to have Southern Africa: aff ected some 900,000 people. Horn More than 30mn people are already Even without El Nino about 3.2mn “food insecure” - lacking access to Somalis are in need of life-saving and By Obinna Anyadike enough food to lead healthy lives as livelihood support, while over 1.1mn Nairobi/ INRI result of a poor harvest earlier this people are internally displaced. year. South Africa’s maize production East Africa: has traditionally been the hedge Short rains, in the right amount l Nino is the largely unwanted against regional shortfalls. But this and at the right time - from October New Year gift - a warming of year drought was declared in fi ve to December - allow the regeneration the tropical Pacifi c causing provinces and output dropped by of pasture, improve crop conditions Edrought and fl oods that will 30%. and boost casual agricultural labour peak at the end of this month, but will The fear is that the region will opportunities for poor households. impact weather systems around the experience another El Nino-induced Too much - if the rains run into globe into 2016. poor harvest, “possibly a disastrous January and February - then animals This year’s El Nino has been steadily one”, according to OCHA. Emergency that are already weak from the gaining strength since March. It’s maize stocks are depleted, and maize long dry season will succumb to likely to be one of the most extreme prices are climbing. Governments hard exposure. Heavy rains can also trigger events of this nature yet seen, with hit by the global fall in commodity waterborne diseases like cholera and the UN’s emergency aid co-ordination prices, on which their economies typhoid. Livestock become susceptible body, UN Offi ce for the Co-ordination depend, will need to fi nd the money to Rift Valley Fever (RVF) - a viral of Humanitarian Aff airs (OCHA), to buy maize on the international mosquito-borne disease. warning that “millions will be market. South Africa alone is El Nino conditions coupled with the impacted”. expecting to import 750,000 tonnes to warming of the Indian Ocean along El Nino’s links with drought in meet its needs. the East African coastline is generating southern Africa and the Horn, and Despite Southern Africa being a “highly enhanced rainfall”, according to with heavy rains in East Africa, largely middle-income region, its rural Pastoralists are among those worst hit by drought. the Kenya Meteorological Department. are well-established. Across the populations historically have some of The government’s contingency plan rest of the continent the climate the world’s worst poverty indicators. Further north, in the Horn and East in Ethiopia for 50 years is happening support the government to stop the anticipated 1mn people at risk from connection is less clear. Other Even in economic powerhouse South Africa, which have more complicated right now,” Save the Children said in a situation from deteriorating further,” fl ooding. The plan calls for the provision factors come into play, such as Africa, almost a quarter of all children climate and agricultural systems, the statement. The hardest-hit regions are said Save the Children. of relief seeds for replanting and temperatures in the North Atlantic under fi ve are stunted. That level of El Nino picture is less clear. in the north and east of the country. Meanwhile, heavy rains and subsidised fertiliser, as well as large- for West Africa’s weather, according deprivation limits people’s ability to The Horn: The UN believes 15mn people will fl ooding are predicted for Ethiopia’s scale vaccination against RVF. to Richard Choularton, the World bounce back after a shock. Poor rains have hit parts of Eritrea, face food shortages in 2016, with the low lying south and east. The Shebelle In Uganda, the government has Food Programme’s chief of climate The worst-aff ected countries in Djibouti, Sudan and Somalia - but next harvest not expected until June. river basin and the easternmost called on 800,000 people regarded as resilience for food. 2016 will be Angola, South Africa, international media coverage has Ethiopia has a population of close to Somali region are particular areas of at risk from landslides in mountainous What makes El Nono particularly Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, tended to focus on Ethiopia. In part 100mn. concern, with fl ooding projected to regions to relocate to safer areas, bad news in 2016 is that it will be Lesotho, Swaziland, and Mozambique. that’s because a lazy connection gets Close to 8mn people are already aff ect 315,000 people. Flooding not where they will be supported with a second tough year in a row for “Everyone is preparing for drought,” drawn with the 1984 famine, but also under the national welfare Productive only displaces people, but destroys relief supplies. A 2,000-strong “Civil- farmers and pastoralists in Southern said Choularton. WFP, for example, because the numbers in need are so Safety Net Programme. The infrastructure - washing away roads Military Disaster Response Group” Africa and the Horn — and to a lesser is putting money and programmes in large. government has committed $192mn and bridges, aff ecting market access, has been deployed to the Mount Elgon extent East Africa. Eighty percent of place in Zimbabwe, in anticipation of With the failure of both the Belg to help combat the crisis, “but more and inundating schools and clinics. and Mount Rwenzori regions, as their populations are dependent on worse trouble to come, part of its new rains and the usually reliable Kiremt help is urgently needed from donors Somalia experiences the same dual well as fl ood-prone areas in eastern, agriculture. Their ability to cope with FoodSECuRE policy approach. summer rains, “the worst drought and the international community to risks of drought and fl ooding - in a southwestern and western Uganda. Weather report LEGAL HELPLINE Three-day forecast

TODAY High: 19 C Waste can be dumped only in designated areas Low : 16 C Strong wind and high seas

By Nizar Kochery discussions on having co- Ticket must at No provision SUNDAY Doha operation with a foreign entity. In this regard we prepared a end of contract for layoff s High: 21 C contract and discussion on Q: I have completed seven years Q: Is there a law in Qatar to Low : 16 C Question: What is the law on the contract is underway. In with my company and wish implement “no work, no pay” M Sunny dumping waste in public or the contract, arbitration is the to resign. When I resign will I similar to layoff s in other parts of private place? What will be the mode of dispute resolution be eligible for return passage? the world? We have people in our punishment for it? Which law is considering that arbitration While signing the contract for payroll but no projects now. The MONDAY applicable in this regard? is faster and less expensive. Is the first time, my employer asked company plans to lay off but will High: 22 C KN, Doha there any timeframe to complete me to sign a letter in Arabic provide accommodation and food Low : 16 C arbitration under Qatar laws? stating that I have received all in the camp. Is this legal? Sunny Answer: Law No30 of 2002, What action can be taken if the my dues. Is this valid? Is there RT, Doha Environmental Protection Law, is arbitrator delays the decision? something I can do? the relevant law in this regard. As per AX, Doha A: There are no provisions in the Labour Fishermen’s forecast Article 32 of the law, dumping and OB, Doha Law for laying off workers in situations OFFSHORE DOHA burning garbage or treatment of solid A: Repatriating the employee at of redundancy. According to Article 44 Wind: NW 15-25/28 KT and liquid waste shall be restricted A: As per Article 197 of the Civil the end of contract is the obligation of the Labour Laws, Law No14 of 2014, a Waves: 5-8/9 Feet except in designated areas away from Procedure Law, award should be of your employer. You are entitled worker is entitled to all his benefi ts if he INSHORE DOHA Wind: NW 12-22/30 KT residential, industrial and agricultural issued within the time specified in for an air ticket back to the place of attends the place of work. The employer Waves: 1-3/4 Feet areas and waterways. Any person the arbitration agreement or within recruitment or to any other agreed shall undertake to enable the worker to who breaches the provision shall be three months. If it is not made and location. With regard to the letter perform the work and to provide him with Around the region punished with a fi ne between QR5,000 the parties do not agree to extend you have signed, it is illegal and not all things necessary therefore, and if the Weather Weather QR50,000. the time limit, then either party binding on you. Now under the wage worker attends the place of work and is today Max/min tomorrow Max/min may raise the matter in the Qatari protection system you must receive willing to perform the work but could not Abu Dhabi Showers 24/18 P Cloudy 24/16 courts. Any party may submit all your entitlements through a bank. do so for reasons beyond his control, he Baghdad Sunny 18/03 Sunny 18/03 Bouncing of Dubai Showers 23/19 P Cloudy 23/19 the issue to the court initially If you are not receiving it seek the shall be considered to have actually done Kuwait City Sunny 17/09 Sunny 18/09 cheques competent to examine the dispute assistance of the Labour Department the work and be entitled to all the benefi ts. Manama P Cloudy 18/14 Sunny 19/15 in order to add a new period or to by lodging a complaint that you have Muscat P Cloudy 27/20 M Cloudy 25/20 Q: Our managing partner is settle the dispute or to appoint signed this letter at the start of the job zPlease send your questions by e-mail Riyadh Sunny 13/05 Sunny 16/08 involved in a number of criminal other arbitrators. contract. to: [email protected] (Mobile:55813105) Tehran Sunny 09/01 Sunny 08/01 cases - mostly involving cheque bouncing. In the corporate contract matters, how does bouncing of cheque signed by the LEGAL SYSTEM IN QATAR managing director on behalf of the company amount to cheating? According to Article 644, an the bankruptcy for the balance of the If an imprisonment order is adjudication of bankruptcy shall debt, if the remaining debtors or one issued, can we settle the matter render due all cash debts payable by of them is declared bankrupt. Such without going to jail? If not, can the bankrupt, whether it is unsecured a creditor reserves his right to claim it be done privately? How are debts or debts secured by a general or against the non-bankrupt obligor for the proceedings in Qatari courts priority right. If the bankrupt is under the balance and the obligor may par- conducted - is it private hearing? an obligation to pay against a con- ticipate in each bankruptcy for what The company may lose its sideration, a life-time annuity or to he has paid on behalf thereof. reputation in the market. What is settle undertakings payable in instal- As per Article 650, if the persons the law of the state? ments, the judge for bankruptcy, on liable for the same debt are all declared VB, Doha application by the creditor, may order bankrupt at the same time, the creditor that an adequate amount to be set may participate in each bankruptcy A: Issuing a cheque without suffi cient aside for payment of such annuity or for the total amount of his debt until balance in the bank account is a instalments and indicate the method he recovers the principal and expenses crime; the nature of the account, of payment. in full. A bankruptcy may not take re- whether personal or corporate, is A creditor whose debt is dependent course to another bankruptcy for what not signifi cant. The benefi ciary on a dissolving condition shall partic- it had paid on its behalf. Around the world may lodge a complaint for cheating ipate in the bankruptcy on providing be continued with the permission If the total amount received by Weather Weather against the signatory of the cheque. an adequate surety or guarantor to the of the judge for the bankruptcy and the creditor exceed his debt and its today Max/min tomorrow Max/min Reconciliation will be possible even satisfaction of the receiver. However, the proceeds of sale shall pass to the accessories, such excess shall revert Athens P Cloudy 17/09 M Sunny 17/08 after judgment by payment at the the share of a creditor, whose debt bankruptcy after deduction of the to the bankruptcy of the obligor who Beirut M Sunny 19/13 Sunny 19/13 Bangkok P Cloudy 34/24 Sunny 35/24 court or by settlement with the is subject to a contingent condition, expenses incurred by the creditor. is guaranteed by the others in accord Berlin Cloudy 13/08 Showers 12/06 benefi ciary. Under Article 187 of shall be set aside until the fate of the However, mortgage creditors and with the order of their obligations in Cairo Sunny 22/11 Sunny 22/11 criminal procedure code, a court debt becomes clear. special lien rights shall institute the debt. In the absence of such an Cape Town Sunny 27/17 Cloudy 27/18 hearing is always in public, unless A judgment declaring bankruptcy legal actions or continue the actions order, the excess shall return to the Colombo S T Storms 33/23 S T Storms 31/23 Sunny 25/13 provided otherwise by the law or shall suspend the individual legal against the receiver. They may also bankruptcies which paid more than Dhaka 25/13 Sunny Hong Kong M Cloudy 19/16 S Showers 18/14 considered by the court or upon the actions brought by ordinary creditors execute or proceed with the execution their share in the debt. Istanbul Cloudy 11/05 P Cloudy 12/06 request of any of the litigants that it and those who have general privilege against the assets guaranteeing their If the mortgaged property is sold at Jakarta T Storms 32/25 S T Storms 33/24 should be a closed hearing to preserve rights. The aforesaid creditors shall rights. a price exceeding the amount of debt, Karachi P Cloudy 28/11 P Cloudy 29/12 the public order or with respect to not take any individual measures According to Article 648, if there the excess amount shall be paid to the London M Cloudy 14/12 Showers 14/09 Manila M Sunny 31/22 M Sunny 32/22 the decency or the dignity of the for execution against the bank- are several persons liable for the same receiver for the account of the group Moscow S Showers 03/-3 Cloudy -2/-5 family, and the court may organise the rupt’s property nor shall complete debt and one of them is declared of creditors. However, if the price is New Delhi Sunny 22/09 P Cloudy 23/12 appearance in the hearing if necessary. the measures that initiated prior to bankrupt, the others shall not be less than the debt, a creditor mortga- New York S Showers 11/09 Cloudy 21/08 issue of the judgment declaring the aff ected by such bankruptcy, unless gee shall participate for the balance in Paris M Sunny 14/08 P Cloudy 13/07 T Storms S T Storms 28/21 bankruptcy. otherwise provided. A creditor, who the bankruptcy in the capacity of an Sao Paulo 28/21 Arbitration for Seoul M Sunny 06/-7 Sunny -2/-8 Nevertheless, if the date is set for receives a part of his debt from one unsecured creditor, provided that his Singapore P Cloudy 32/25 S T Storms 31/25 dispute resolution the sale of the bankrupt’s prop- of the several persons liable for the debt is established in accordance with Sydney S T Storms 28/16 P Cloudy 21/16 erty, the execution measures may same debt, may only participate in the provisions of the law. Tokyo Cloudy 1 3 / 0 5 Cloudy 12/04 Q: Our company is holding Gulf Times 20 Saturday, December 26, 2015 QATAR

People on the Doha Corniche during a break in the rain. People walking through a drizzle. Weekend rain cool welcome for residents By Joseph Varghese The Met had warned of the likeli- some friends. However, after coming Staff Reporter hood of a thunderstorm with strong across the weather warnings in the me- wind starting from Thursday night and dia, we cancelled it on Thursday. all through Friday. “But we are enjoying the rain. After esidents in Qatar woke up to a Since it was a day off for most of all, it is a weekend and we do not need cool morning yesterday with residents, the rain did not impact their to rush to the offi ce. We are enjoying Rlight showers providing a wel- daily activities. the rain though the children are a little come change. Most remained indoors to enjoy the disappointed.” Being a Friday, it was also convenient cool weather and light rains. By evening however, the rains be- for them to enjoy the rains as most of Traffi c on many roads was sparse came heavier and everyone stayed in- them had their weekly day off . and shopping malls were less crowded doors. The light drizzle in the morning was than usual on a Friday as many people Very few residents could be seen welcomed by many, especially children avoided driving in the rain. outside as the rain continued to pour who were eager to play in the rain. However, some have had to cancel heavily for hours. Even the elders could be seen walk- their weekend arrangements, calling The Ministry of Municipality and A worker at Doha’s Souq Haraj using a cardboard ing through the streets without an um- off their programmes on Thursday in Urban Development has made the nec- carton to protect himself from the rain. brella or other covering or protection. anticipation of a wet Friday. essary arrangements to drain water PICTURES: Jayan Orma , Nasar T K , and Shaji A cyclist riding through a flooded road in Doha yesterday. The forecast by Qatar Met Depart- A resident said: “We had planned from all the low-lying areas. Kayamkulam ment had also helped residents prepare a drive to Sealine Beach this weekend Several tankers could be seen pump- Below: Vehicles traversing a flooded road in Doha yesterday. for the rain. along with the family members and ing out water from such areas. Below: Vehicles at a traff ic signal yesterday.

Palestinian Festival at Katara concludes today

ultural Village Foundation – Katara will conclude the CPalestinian Festival today in Building three. Organised in co-operation with the Palestinian embassy in Doha, the event was launched on Thursday in the presence of high-profi le guests, senior of- fi cials and heads of diplomatic missions in Qatar. Director of marketing, inter- national relations, and cultural Dignitaries at the opening of the festival. aff airs Darwish Ahmad al-She- bani, speaking on behalf of Ka- Left: The Palestinian fashion show in session. PICTURE: Anas al-Samaraee tara’s general manager Dr Khaled bin Ibrahim al-Sulaiti, affi rmed to the Palestinian cause,” Ghan- Village Foundation as a thank you attractions of the festival. that the festival is meant to in- nam said. gesture. There is also a stall to showcase troduce the customs, traditions, The organisers and the Pal- A dance performance by a Palestinian products and tradi- and civilisation of Palestine. estinian ambassador exchanged group of Palestinian schoolgirls, tional clothes. “The Palestinian culture is found on communication and scribed the festival as a present “The festival also conveys a souvenirs. a fashion show that featured bril- The embroidery varies accord- part of the wider Arab culture, openness,” he noted. from the Palestinian community message of gratitude to Qatar, A Palestinian parent of a child liant and diverse embroidery, the ing to the diff erent regions of Pal- which is one of the most ancient The Palestinian ambassador in Qatar to the wider society in both the leadership and the citi- from the Palestinian School gift- ring dance (Dabka) and rendition estine, refl ecting their immediate cultures worldwide. It is a culture to Doha Muneer Ghannam de- the country. zens, for their relentless support ed an olive tree to the Cultural of folkloric songs were among the concepts, trees, and mountains.